Do you or loved one use Athletic mouth guards? It would be really unfortunate if your child suddenly lost or fractured 1 or 2 of their front teeth playing sports. Their smile, talking, eating will be suddenly affected.

Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals who have graduated from an accredited dental hygiene program in an institution of higher education, licensed in dental hygiene to provide educational, clinical, research, administrative and therapeutic services supporting total health through the promotion of optimum oral health.

You have definitely heard that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In dentistry, you might say it’s worth two pounds. Maybe even thousands and thousands shillings. Why is this? Dental problems can become exponentially more expensive — and extremely painful — the longer you ignore them. Fortunately, todays dentistry has many easy and inexpensive ways to make sure that current dental issues doesn’t turn into tomorrow’s headache.

Chewing gum containing sugar may actually increase your chances of developing a cavity, however there’s clinical evidence that shows just the opposite for sugar-free gum. Moreover sugar-free gum that is sweetened with Xylitol also reduces decay causing bacteria, by stunting the cavity- causing process.

It’s not uncommon for people to skip routine dental cleanings—after all, they think, how much harm can it really cause? If you think that skipping out on routine teeth cleaning is no big deal, think again. Researchers have found a direct link between your oral health and your total health. Heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, bone loss, and even risk of stroke have been found to be connected to how well you care for your teeth. One study found that people who skip even one routine habit of dental care—including simple at-home tooth brushing—increase their risk of heart disease by as much as 70 percent.

There are certain characteristics that you should look for in a toothbrush be it manual or powered.

1. Size. Your toothbrush should allow you easy access to all surfaces of your teeth. For most adult toothbrushes the head should be half-inch wide and one-inch.
2. Bristle variety. If you go to purchase a manual toothbrush or a replacement head for your electric toothbrush, you will be able to select a toothbrush with soft, medium, or hard nylon bristles. For most adults and children, a toothbrush with soft bristles and rounded tips is the most appropriate. This type of toothbrush is gentle on gums but still allows you to effectively clean your teeth. Depending on how hard you brush your teeth and the strength of your teeth, medium and hard bristled brushes could actually damage the gums, root surface, and protective tooth enamel; this will can cause tooth sensitivity and other dental problems.

The best toothbrush then will be soft, flexible and electric. A tooth brush should be replaced AT LEAST every 3 months

Dr Gitangu was privileged to be taking part in the weeks GES Entrepreneurs 2015 events as part of entrepreneurs and was honored to be aside 18 other magnetic entrepreneurs.
Kenya on the RISE” to air on DSTV Ch 198 & GoTV Ch 119 starting Wed. July 22nd-July 28th. One of the things she spoke about is at Dental Smiles we promote a whole body centered approach to disease prevention and we are committed to keeping on top of the latest preventive innovations. The philosophy of early detection and intervention is the primary objective of preventive dentistry. By detecting potential problems in their very early stages, the Dental Smiles team can help you avoid the need for more extensive and expensive procedures.

Most children see a dentist far later than is recommended by both dental and medical professionals. Many parents wait until there’s a dental issue before they seek dental care.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends that a child go to the dentist by age 1 or within six months after the first tooth erupts. Primary teeth typically begin growing in around 6 months of age.

According to the Journal of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, you may be 11 times more likely to develop breast cancer if you have poor oral health or gum disease. A survey of 3,273 people discovered that individuals with chronic gum disease had a higher occurrence of breast cancer.

Hypertension describes high blood pressure (140/90mm/ Hg) Many individuals are unaware that they have hypertension, hence why it is referred as the silent killer’ because in most people there are no visible symptoms