A smile is often the first thing people notice about you so it makes sense that you want your teeth to be straight. While braces are an option, they can be unsightly and uncomfortable. Maintenance can also be a chore. Fortunately, today there are...
According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Health Care, Research and Education, thumb sucking is normal and soothing in babies and young children. Thumb sucking can be the result of hunger, boredom, nervousness or tiredness. Most children...
The digestion of food begins in the mouth. Your digestive system moves foods along the digestive tract and breaks down foods so your body can absorb and use the nutrients in foods. The health of your teeth, which helps break down foods, is...
Pacifiers give busy parents a break by alleviating some of an infant's intense sucking need and providing her with a way to self-soothe. The Mayo Clinic also suggests that pacifiers potentially serve a protective purpose by reducing an infant's...
Bruxism, the often unconscious clenching and grinding of teeth, can cause significant damage to children's teeth. Identify causes of stress in your child's life and do the best you can to help him manage or eliminate the stressors that cause it....
Mouth care is essential to oral health. A professional should provide some care; Discovery Health recommends two dentist appointments a year. In addition, certain conditions should prompt a visit to your dentist, notes the Mayo Clinic. These...
Numerous health problems may require a soft diet. According to the Medical Dictionary website, a soft diet is a one limited to soft-textured, easily-digestible and well-tolerated foods. A soft diet provides you with essential nutrients in the form...
Dentists evaluate and treat problems related to teeth and the oral cavity. They perform extractions, administer anesthesia and medication, educate patients about proper dental hygiene, and write prescriptions when needed. According to the Bureau...
If you hear a clicking in your jaw when you chew, find it difficult to open your mouth and chew, or experience misalignment of your jaw because of an injury, exercise may help. Talk to your dentist about any problems you have with your jaws. If...
It's easy to take a healthy mouth for granted, but if you want to avoid dental problems and maintain a healthy smile for life, you need to do more than just run a toothbrush over your teeth every day. While proper brushing and flossing are...
Straight and properly aligned teeth makes an attractive smile, and they promote good overall dental health. Teeth that overbite, cross-bite, are widely spaced or overcrowded can contribute to gum disease, painful jaw, wearing down of the teeth and...
Braces are placed on teeth to correct alignment, make room for new teeth (in children's cases) and ensure a proper bite when the jaw comes together. Today's technology makes braces both quicker and more effective than the previous...
Teeth grinding, or bruxism, is a condition that causes a baby to rub or snap his teeth together, which makes a clacking noise that can be distracting. While teeth grinding can cause damage in adults, grinding is often a sign of teething or another...
Wisdom teeth are the last teeth in the back of your mouth. It is common for wisdom teeth to cause pain and other problems, because there usually is not enough room in the mouth for them to come in properly. As a result, a dentist usually removes...
Emerging theories in orthodontic care have changed the timing of when children get braces. By putting braces on baby teeth, orthodontists can better manage jaw growth and positioning of adult teeth. The result is typically a two-phase approach,...
Bruxism is the term used for a dental disorder that includes grinding the teeth. This condition is common during childhood, states KidsHealth, a service of The Nemours Center for Children's Health Media, a non-profit organization devoted to the...
Thumb sucking is a natural activity, not a learned behavior. Before birth, doctors see many babies through prenatal ultrasounds sucking their thumbs. In-utero thumb sucking is the fetus' way of learning to suck. Some babies suck their fists,...
Dental implants are a type of synthetic material that are shaped like teeth, often called prosthetic or artificial teeth. Such teeth are implanted into a person's jawbone to repair damage and destruction caused by injury, illness or periodontal...
While some are born with a perfect smile, others require help from an orthodontist to achieve straight teeth and an aligned bite. With the assistance of braces, the teeth are slowly shifted into a healthy pattern.
Orthodontic braces perfect your smile by applying constant, steady pressure to move your teeth into proper position. The brackets and wires attached to your teeth are limited in the direction of the applied force, however. Some situations,...
Straight teeth are more important than ever. Besides the dental health they promote, aligned teeth show self-care, self-confidence and attractiveness. A nice smile not only makes a person more attractive, it can help a person feel better about...
Teeth grinding or a jaw misalignment frequently cause facial pain. You might not realize you grind your teeth until you develop pain. Symptoms associated with teeth grinding include discomfort when chewing or biting, headaches and muscle soreness....
Dental occlusion is the way that the teeth meet when you close your mouth and put them together. There are several things that create the occlusion. The teeth themselves are one factor on how they fit together. Teeth that are out of line or...
Although children eventually lose their baby teeth to make room for permanent teeth, dental care for baby teeth is important to prevent decay, help children chew their food and improve speech development. Also called primary teeth, these are the...
For those of you not genetically gifted with perfectly aligned pearly whites, the choice to straighten your teeth becomes an expensive one. Once you have decided to shell out your hard-earned cash for orthodontic work, the choice becomes...
The emergence of a baby's first teeth signals a big milestone and contributes to a baby's ability to chew and speak, but these new teeth also need proper care. While baby teeth only last a short while, the proper development of this first set of...
If you notice popping or cracking when you chew or talk, don't ignore it. Your clicking jaw may be caused by a disorder of the temporomandibular joint, also known as TMJ for short. TMJ may be caused by stress, teeth grinding, or a slipped disc in...
Oral hygiene keeps your child's smile bright and teeth healthy. Brushing is a key component to oral hygiene beginning as a baby when the first teeth begin erupting. Getting older kids to brush and floss their teeth is often a challenge, but...
An occlusal splint, also known as a bite guard, is a removable dental device. It is commonly used to treat temporomandibular disorders, which are characterized by problems with the mechanisms of your jaw. These problems can cause pain and problems...
