Skipping Brushing Teeth At Bedtime?

"Good oral health cannot be maintained by brushing once a day as each brushing session has a specific purpose.  Brushing first thing in the morning coats the tooth's enamel with fluoride to strengthen and protect the tooth surface against acid attacks throughout the day,” Dr Nigel Carter.

According to recent research, approximately a half of the population (a bit more than 47%) mentioned regularly skipping brushing their teeth at bedtime.

"Brushing last thing at night removes the deposits which have built up from eating and drinking during the day, in addition to removing plaque; the cause of gum disease.  The last brush of the day also coats the teeth with fluoride, which is not washed away through eating and drinking, it continues to protect the tooth's surface during sleep," advised Dr Carter.

Athletes at Risk for Tooth Decay

A group of New Zealand researchers gave questionnaires to professional athletes whom take part in various sports which involve, running, biking and swimming.

Nearly 94% of the professional athletes stated that they ate during training, 84% mentioned the consumption of sports drinks.  Approximately 50% said that during training sessions they drank sports drinks or water by taking "little sips, often, from a bottle."  Just few of them thought however, that the way they eat and drink during training could put them at risk for cavities.  Upon further research, 10 out of 10 athletes who had oral exams were at high risk of developing cavities.

What are teeth made of?

There four major tissues which compose the tooth: enamel, dentin, cementum and pulp. Dental enamel is the hardest tissue not only in the tooth but also in the whole human body. Like any part of organism tooth enamel contains water and organic component but only 4% in total and other 96% go to the mineral compounds. The natural color of tooth enamel can be different: from light yellow to grayish white. But a teeth color in general depends not only on enamel color because the enamel is semitransparent. That is why underlying dentin has a great influence on the appearance of a tooth. Also certain elements of everyday life like coffee, tea, tobacco as well as bacteria stains are able to provoke a discoloration of tooth enamel. The main mineral of enamel is a calcium phosphate.

Tea and coffee - is it good for your teeth?

There is nothing like hot coffee or tea early morning. But what about your smile? Yes, black tea just as its cousin coffee do stain your teeth because of tannic acid. But tee in contrast to coffee has some alternative effect.

Due to scientists opinion drinking tea may be good way to keep your teeth healthy. They found that some compounds in tea like polyphenolic constituents may attack harmful bacteria in the mouth cavity. These compounds are capable of killing or suppressing growth and acid production of cavity-causing bacteria in dental plaque. Thanks to black tea the total mass of the dental plaque can be greatly reduced so as certain plaque bacteria lose their adherence capability.

Teenagers and Dental Care

It goes without saying that the most fun and exiting period in our life is while being teenagers. However, besides fun there are some responsibilities as well, and the dental care is one among the most essential of them.

Nowadays the majority of teenagers drink just giant volumes of soda, not considering that these carbonated beverages contain high concentrations of sugar and flavors (which are acidic in nature), which in future can lead to tooth decay, as these additives eat in to the tooth's enamel, at the same time giving more chances for cavities.