Understanding Oral Care Probiotics

What ARE Probiotics

Probiotics are a hot topic in the media today. Want to be more “regular”? Try this yogurt with probiotics. Want to boost your immune health? Try a supplement or another yogurt with probiotics known to support the immune system. In fact, yogurt has long been the delivery system for the beneficial bacteria known as probiotics. So, if you’re the average American who spends time on the Internet or watching TV, it’s likely you’ve heard about probiotics

What Exactly ARE Probiotics?

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria.

There are billions of bacteria in the human body. Actually, it’s thought that there are more bacteria in the human body than the cells that comprise the human body. Most of these beneficial bacteria are basically inert, causing no harm and offering no benefit.

Some of the bacteria in our bodies is harmful. These are what cause your head-cold, your stomach illness and many lesser known health issues.

When  harmful bacteria launch wage war, the beneficial bacteria in the body are right there waiting to fight back. If the beneficial bacteria in your body aren’t prepared to fight off the bad bacteria, you may end up with an infection and a prescription for antibiotics.

The use of probiotics -  be they food additives, supplements or any of the array of products which now include beneficial bacteria – help maintain a healthy balance between beneficial and harmful bacteria in the body.

Probiotics Benefit Mouth, Too

Research has shown that not only are probiotics beneficial for digestive health, they can also affect your oral health. By blending three beneficial bacteria commonly found in very health mouths, researchers at Oragenics, Inc. have created oral care probiotics for the entire family, focusing on maintaining a healthy balance of bacteria in the mouth. EvoraPro is a professional-strength oral-care probiotic meant for use after a professional dental cleaning or scaling. EvoraPlus is an oral care mint, which, when used twice daily, can help support gum and tooth health, freshen breath and naturally and gently whiten teeth. EvoraPlus is blended specifically to address the oral care needs of the those over the age of 10. EvoraKids oral care probiotics are blended to address the oral care needs of children ages 3-10. And even your pets can have fresher breath and whiter, cleaner teeth with Teddy’s Pride oral care probiotics for cats and dogs.

Here’s another great video to inspire your little ones to do their best when brushing their teeth.

Tips for Avoiding Oral Thrush, And What to Do if You Have It

Candida albicans – It’s the technical name for the fungus that most moms call “thrush.”

Oral thrush is a condition in which the fungus accumulates on the lining of your mouth. In addition to painful creamy white lesions, oral thrush can appear on the roof of the mouth, the gums, tonsils and the back of the throat.

Babies and those who wear dentures are most affected by oral thrush infections, as are those who use inhaled corticosteroids and those whose immune systems are compromised.

Though oral thrush can be quite painful, it is only a minor problem for those who are healthy.

How You Can Prevent Oral Thrush

Keep It Clean!

Not only do bottles and pacifiers need to be sterilized, babies’ mouths need to be cleaned after feedings in order to help prevent thrush infections. If the baby is breast fed, it’s important that the mother keeps her nipples clean before and after feedings. It’s easy for mothers and babies to share oral thrush infections.

Good Digestion

The mouth isn’t the only place Candida albicans fungus likes to hang out. The digestive tract is another favorite haunt for these pesky health-wreckers. Not only does the Candida albicans fungus cause the painful lesions of oral thrush, it also causes major digestive discomfort if it travels into your stomach or intestines. To help avoid this, try eating lots of green, leafy vegetables and other fiber-rich roughage, which can help keep the intestines clear. Digestive probiotics can also keep Candida albicans out of the digestive tract.

What If You Suspect Your Or Your Baby Has Thrush?

Call your doctor. While there are many things you can do to avoid thrush, and many great ways to take care of yourself to avoid a relapse, if you think you or your child have thrush, the best thing you can do is call your doctor to confirm the diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment.

How is Oral Thrush Treated?

As with many conditions, the treatment for oral thrush depends on the person.

Doctors tend to treat both mothers and their nursing babies, even if only one of them is presenting symptoms, simply to keep them from passing the infection back and forth. While the baby will take an antifungal medication, the mother is likely to use an antifungal cream for her breasts. Anything that regularly comes into contact with the baby’s mouth, like bottle nipples, pacifiers and teething toys will need to be rinsed in a solution of equal parts water and vinegar to inhibit the growth of fungus. The same goes for all parts of breast pumps that come into contact with the mother’s milk.

Healthy adults and child with oral thrush may be able to get their symptoms under control simply by eating unsweetened yogurt or taking acidophilus capsules or liquid. Yogurt and acidophilus don’t destroy the fungus, but they can help restore the normal bacterial flora. If the infection persists, a doctor generally will prescribe an antifungal medication.

Adults with weakened immune systems need to go straight antifungal medication.

We’re always looking for great ways to inspire kids to take good care of their teeth, so we were super excited to stumble across this new video created by Uplift Comics.

See, as most parents know, there’s no one way to teach your kids to do anything. In fact, the best way to teach your children to do things is to show them a variety of ways to do something, and then repeat yourself often. We also know that kids tend to learn well when things are set to music, which is what makes video clips so great.

Enjoy!

Click here to watch now!

Fighting the Obesity Epidemic

Dogs Great For Kids’ Health

Worried about your how the obesity epidemic will impact your children? Maybe you should consider getting a dog.

New research has shown that children who own a dog are less likely to be obese. A survey on the health of children’s hearts was conducted by researchers from the University of London where 2,000 nine and ten year olds were studied. They found that the children who were from homes that had a dog were more active than those without a canine pal. Not only that – the kids weighed less.

The figures showed that children from homes where man’s best friend was part of the family got more physical exercise and were less sedentary. The survey revealed that the boys and girls that owned a dog took more steps per day, and spent more time exercising of weekdays and weekends than their dog-less peers.

The study couldn’t exactly quantify whether the families were more active because of owning a dog, or if they were just more active than other families.

Christopher Owen, senior lecturer in epidemiology at St George’s University of London campus, where the study was conducted, said: “It’s a bit of a chicken and egg question. Long-term studies are needed to answer it, but it may be a bit of both.”

Children who are overweight are at a higher risk for developing many chronic diseases, including diabetes, asthma, gallstones, heart disease, liver problems and sleep disorders, along with the potential for a lifetime of weight management struggles.

Save Face With a Mouthguard

Little Molly’s at bat and wham! She gets hit in the kisser with a ball. That is precisely why her mom made sure she was wearing a mouthguard.

Each year, more than 200,000 injuries to the mouth and jaw are reported according to an article in the May 2004 edition of the AGD Impact, the monthly magazine of the Academy of General Dentistry. According to the article, most injuries occur during sports-play, and can be avoided by the simple use of a mouthguard, a flexible, plastic appliance designed to protect teeth from trauma.

Not only can mouthguards prevent damage to teeth, they can also help prevent concussions, cerebral hemorrhage, neck injuries and jaw fractures by keeping the lower jaw from getting jammed into the upper jaw.

Mouthguards also help move the soft tissues in the mouth away from the teeth to prevent cuts and bruises, especially for those who wear braces, retainers and expanders.

When Should You Wear A Mouthguard?

Mouthguards are highly recommended for contact sports, but also should be worn when rollerblading, roller skating, bicycling, skateboarding, and pretty much any time there’s a chance your child may come into contact with either another player or a hard surface.

Where Can You Get A Mouthguard?

Mouthguards can be purchased at sporting goods stores and some department stores. Generally the type of mouthguards available at stores can be somewhat custom fit by warming them, then having your child gently bite into them. Most dentists, however, recommend that you have a custom-fit mouthguard professionally made for your child, especially if he or she is either in a high-contact sport, like football, or if he or she wears dental appliances.

While injuries to the mouth and jaw are very common, taking the simple step of having your little teammate gear up with a mouthguard will go a long way toward protecting his or her mouth and jaw – among other things!

Talk About Teeth

Helping Your Kids Understand the Importance of Good Oral Hygiene

Do you find yourself nagging your kids to brush their teeth every day? Have you ever wondered why? It might be because your kids just don’t understand the importance of good oral hygiene.

What’s The Big Deal With Tooth Brushing?

Helping your kids understand the importance of good oral care will go a long way toward getting them motivated to not only brush their teeth every day (twice!) but also to do a good job while they’re at it. Here’s what they need to know:

Teeth are important. They give us beautiful smiles, and help us chew our food (think about how hard it is to take a good bite of food when you have a loose or missing tooth!).

If you don’t take care of your teeth, you can get cavities, and cavities HURT. Cavities can give you a tooth ache that can make it difficult to eat, talk and sleep.

Sometimes, if you don’t take good care of your teeth for a long time, you can lose your teeth, and that hurts too. When you lose your teeth from neglect (not brushing and flossing), it hurts more than it does when a baby tooth falls out.

What Can Your Child Do Take Good Care of His or Her Teeth?

Taking good care of your teeth is as simple as brushing twice a day for two minutes, and flossing once a day.

Chew a tasty oral care probiotic! Probiotics are beneficial (good!) bacteria that support the health of your teeth.

Knowledge is power. Empower your kids to make good choices when it comes to their oral care for a lifetime of healthy, beautiful smiles.

“Brush Your Teeth!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY-JbMkiE9o

Early Orthodontics

Straighter Smiles to Combat Bullying?

It’s fairly natural for parents to want their children to have sweet, straight smiles. In fact, studies have found that the reason most parents choose to pursue orthodontic treatment for young children is because of this cosmetic issue, and because they believe that improving the appearance of a child’s smile will lower her risk of being the target of vicious bullies.

Unfortunately, parents could be right. Appearance is a big issue not only in the hallways of high schools nationwide, it’s also an issue on playgrounds. Name brands rule. Right now, “sillyband” bracelets rule. In six months, who knows what trend children will be expected to keep up with in order to fit in with their peers?

So investing in a healthy, gorgeous smile and the well-documented increase in self-confidence that comes with orthodontic treatments is probably not the worst way parents can spend their money.

On the other hand, there are some non-cosmetic issues to take into consideration when seeking early orthodontic treatment for children, including reduction of the total treatment time, to receive the best result, to reduce the need for or in support of speech therapy and to avoid surgical intervention.

There are also several conditions under which an orthodontist may advise early treatment. These include:

Crossbite – This condition happens when teeth are trapped inside lower teeth. Dentists start management of this condition on young patients of between the ages of 8 and 10, even though patients of these ages still have most of the baby teeth.

Deepbite – This occurs when the upper front teeth cover almost all the lower front teeth. This is also caused by severe crowding. Dentists typically begin managing this condition in between the ages of 11 and 12.

Underbite – Underbite refers to the excessive protrusion of the lower jawbone. Because an underbite is a difficult problem to correct, most orthodontists like to see children with this condition as young as 7-8 years of age.

Sesame Street Play Shows How to Protect Teeth From Decay

In Sesame Street tradition, this video shows Bert worrying and attempting to rally those around him, while the show just goes on. In this case, the show is about brushing your teeth, and how to protect them from decay.

Share this gem with your kids to help them understand what decay is, and what they can do to prevent it.