Herbal Medicines in Dentistry - Learn How To Manage Pain and Tooth Decay With These Modest Herbs

Herbal medicines have been used for many years. Their history can be rooted from ancient civilization wherein their role as a primary source of medication is evident. Although today only a few of these many herbs have been approved for their commendable medicinal properties, a large majority of naturally occurring herbs are only considered as food supplements because of the lack of a randomized controlled clinical trial. However, this isn't to say that herbal medicines have no future at all in the field of medicine. Currently many studies are presently being conducted to know these herbs in depth. Many are hopeful about these natural substances for if ever approved, they are going to be cheap and affordable for all.

What are Herbal Medicines?

Herbal medicines for them to be considered as such should be naturally occurring and with therapeutic compounds to our bodies. As said earlier, they are considered supplements rather than drugs because manufacturers of these alternative medicines do not have the budget to conduct randomized controlled clinical trials (in layman's terms are experiments done to prove or disprove a product's efficacy to a particular disease).

In contrast to drugs, which have a lot of criteria to satisfy before they can pass the standards of drug regulatory commissions, herbal medicines are required only 4 criteria that is safeness, efficacy, affordability and acceptability.

Accessible Herbal Medicines

There are a lot of herbal medicines that are found right in your fridge. For example garlic has been shown to reduce cholesterol in the body thus may play a role in lowering your blood pressure. It also contains an antibacterial compound called Allicin which is known to be effective in preventing wounds from progressing into worse infection. What is even better is that past tests show positive results in the treatment of AIDS. So we have a lot of hopes for our modest garlic.

Garlic can even boost your immune system so that your body can fight off infections effectively. If you are feeling sick in the morning, you can swallow chopped garlic mixed with honey and you'll feel well after.

Another accessible herbal medicine is bitter gourd. I know it tastes, well, bitter, but they say only those vegetables which taste bad actually possess vital vitamins and mineral essential to our body's functioning. In the case of bitter gourd, research has been shown that it is effective in lowering blood sugar level as in diabetes. It is a good source of vitamins A, B, C and minerals such as iron, folic acid, phosphorus and calcium. Yes! It is that loaded!

Herbal Medicines and its Role in Dentistry: Pain and Mouthwash

Peppermint has anti-pain effects and is effective in alleviating body aches and even a simple toothache. It can be taken internally as a decoction or the leaves can be applied directly on the afflicted area.

Peppermint is also known in Spanish as Yerba Buena which means "good herb" in Spanish. This herb has been around and been consumed for centuries as tea. For a simple toothache, if you want to be all-natural, this is the herb for you. You might also want to consult your dentist if you think the pain is intolerable. This may mean that it is inflamed and you might want to drink an anti-inflammatory agent for this matter. For headaches, you can heat the leaves and place them on your forehead and wait for the pain to go away for good.

Guava can be used as an antiseptic and mouthwash to disinfect our oral cavities from oral infections such as gum infections. It can also be used to treat tooth decay. As an herbal medicine, the guava fruit, bark and leaves can be used. Aside from its antiseptic property, guava is also loaded with a high concentration of vitamin C.

The bark can also be used as a substitute for toothbrush if you happen to be stuck in a forest and you badly need to clean your teeth. What you can do is to peel off the hard covering of the bark and turn the inner portion of the bark into bristle like. This is a very effective alternative for our regular toothbrush plus it is packed with antiseptic too! In fact, in the Middle East, they actually manufacture guava barks and even packaged them into individual blister packs and sell it very cheaply.

What is important with these herbal medicines is that they are really good supplements for our bodies to survive the everyday pollution of this world. A lot of these alternative medicines are immune boosters and are essential for repair and regulation of our body's function. We should not underestimate these herbs and we should always remember that much of synthetic medicines today have been patterned from the actions of these modest and natural substances.


Check out these other Articles:

1. Dental Check Up
2. Periodontitis and Atherosclerosis
3. Dental Instruments

Is There An Association Between Periodontitis and Atherosclerosis?

Periodontitis and atherosclerosis are two technically different diseases that are somewhat associated with the elderly group. Some say that the susceptibility of these individuals to infections such as the above mentioned are what make these associated with the old age group.

However, despite the physiologic context of the two diseases, studies have shown that they are associated when taken separately. To put this statement simply, research have found out that if you have periodontitis, the likelihood of you having atherosclerosis, hence cardiovascular disease, is much higher as compare to those who have healthy tooth attachments.

For you to be able to understand what I'm talking about, you have to first know what is Periodontitis and what is Atherosclerosis. Periodontitis is actually a chronic inflammation of the tissues surrounding the teeth. Now, if there is inflammation, there would probably be an agent which is causing the infection. The agents for periodontitis are actually bacteria that thrive in the oxygen-poor environment that is located below the gingiva.

Periodontitis is basically of two types, chronic periodontitis, which affects the old age group and is somehow physiologically associated, and the other one, which is the less common type, the aggressive periodontitis, which affects young patients and progresses rapidly.

Atherosclerosis, on the other hand, is also a progressive disease process that causes thickening of our arteries. This is by far the most common cause of coronary artery disease.

Now, what is important is that studies have proven that periodontitis and atherosclerosis are indeed associated with each other. There are a lot of proposed mechanisms by which these two diseases interact. One of the most popular ones is the mechanism by which the bacteria causing periodontitis produce different chemicals which trigger the formation of blot clots in your vascular system, thus, leading to atherosclerosis. Periodontitis, being an infection, also weakens one's immune system thereby, predisposing him to more complex systemic diseases, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases included.

Now that you are more aware of the association between periodontitis and atherosclerosis, you are probably enlightened by the fact that taking care of your teeth and maintaining a good oral hygiene is as important as not smoking or drinking, eating healthy, exercising and the like, in preventing cardiovascular diseases. Although we pay little importance to our teeth, this is one way of showing you how important having healthy teeth and gums are in being healthy all-around.



Check out these other Articles:

1. Dental Caries
2. Invisible Braces
3. Dental Laminates

The Dental Changes That Occur When We Age - Don't Worry, They're All Normal!

When you think of "aging", what first comes to your mind? You would probably say wrinkles, sagging of muscles, loss of that youthful glow etc. Most of us are afraid of aging because of the physical aspect and because of the fact that we are little by little deteriorating. However, the hard truth is that we really cannot escape aging. We are all programmed to age. Cosmetics can only improve a part of it, but most of it are irreversible.

Aging is not something that is concentrated on one part of our body, say our face, or our arms. Aging is something systemic, meaning, it affects the whole of us. The good thing is, the signs of aging do not appear overnight. So if you are young and you still have that youthful glow, then you really have to try your best to maintain that glow and try to improve it as much as you can.

Similarly, there are also physiologic changes that we usually notice with our teeth and our mouth. Here are the changes inside the mouth that are commonly associated with the elderly:

1. One of the most common things that we observe with the elderly is they are either missing a teeth or two or the whole set of teeth. This is a normal, physiologic sign of aging. What happens here is that there is gingival recession wherein the soft tissues whose main function is to hold your teeth in place losses its tight connection with your tooth. Similarly, there is also bone loss. Again, this is another physiologic phenomenon associated with aging.

2. Saliva is decreased. Our saliva contributes to making our food more palatable and tasty. Thus if there is a decreased production of saliva, chances are you won't be able to taste your food or you won't be able to enjoy it.
So this is probably one of the reasons why our grandparents often complain with the taste of the food they eat.
Saliva is also responsible for the flushing of the bacteria that are inside your mouth. So, a decreased amount of saliva would result to bad breath, given that your grandma or grandpa has teeth. The decreased in the production of saliva is because of the deteriorating salivary glands, which is again, all part of aging.

3. Less sensitivity to taste. I have already mentioned that a decrease in the amount of saliva would result to less sensitivity of taste. But in general, there is less sensitivity because the taste buds, which are located in your mouth, also deteriorate. This is probably the primary reason for this. However, secondary reasons, such as decreased saliva production (as mentioned earlier), and dentures also play a role in lessening your sensation for taste.

There are a lot of changes that are associated with aging that we just have to accept. Probably the most effective way of sort of maintaining that youthfulness in us is to enjoy whatever we have at the moment and try to cherish everything else. When we talk about the changes in our teeth, although most of these changes are unavoidable, the best thing we could do is to take care of it because sooner or later, we won't have any choice but to adjust to the consequences of not having one.

Dental Caries: The Role of Food We Eat In Their Development

As long as we have teeth inside our mouth, we can't escape the vicious caries that. Dental caries is caused by a multitude and diverse ecosystem of bacteria inside our mouth. These bacteria eat up the sugar we eat. They thrive into our oral cavity and are able to survive because of these foods that are considered trophic for them. By trophic, this means that the food we eat is just as important for them just as it is important for our survival.

The acid these bacteria produce as a result of the metabolism (conversion) of sugar is responsible for causing the cavities on our teeth. These may either lead to re-construction of the weakened, cavitated tooth, or may progress into caries. Once caries is initiated, the tooth is even more susceptible to even more serious scenario.

It is very important to maintain good oral hygiene if we want to prevent destruction of our teeth by caries. The food we eat, particularly the sugar we eat contributes greatly to the progression of caries.

You might hear people tell you, "Don't eat chocolates as these will DEFINITELY give you dental caries." This is however only partly true. Dental caries per se is not solely dependent on the sweetness of the food or the amount of sugar that is contained in that food stuff.

Whether it is a loaf of bread, a piece of chocolate or a slice of chocolate, it does not really matter as long as you brush your teeth immediately after eating those cariogenic food. Note that cariogenic is different from carcinogenic food. Cariogenic foods are foods which are likely to cause caries and carcinogenic foods are those which predisposes a person to cancer when that person eats that certain food.

These bacteria would like it much more if its host eats more frequent without brushing after. That is why it is very advisable to brush your teeth after a eating cariogenic foods as this is very critical for the prevention of progression of dental caries.

The Pros and Cons of Invisible Braces

Invisible braces are becoming a hit today!
First there were the metal braces that are complete with a full head gear.
Then there were the much simpler metal braces.
Next are the porcelain brackets.

And finally invisible braces. Invisible braces can fix misaligned teeth for as quick as one month. Because it's the latest hip in the orthodontic world, I doubt this will cost less here in the Philippines.

The Pros

Unlike conventional metal braces, these are actually plastic trays which are custom-made to allow perfect fit. These "aligners" replace metals and wires. The plastic tray is responsible for the tension and compression which is necessary to move and align your teeth.

This is very advantageous for the wearer since this is fully removable and it sort of eliminates the pain (but not completely) in contrast with the conventional braces.

Well, it is undetectable by others since the tray is really thin. The term "invisible" is actually a misnomer since it functions as the conventional. So, if you don't want the unwanted "Betty" look, then this is your option.

The Cons

The concept of invisible braces is actually present since the 1940s but it was only now when it attracted ortho patients. So, new means that it would cost a lot. We are not paying for the materials per se, but the concept itself. So if you are thinking of getting yourself one of these, make sure you are financially-able!

Invisible braces are designed only for misaligned teeth or slightly crooked teeth. If your problem is your jaws or anything related to the bone, this wouldn't do you good. Try the conventional one instead.

The tray, since it is removable, is very easy to lose. So be really vigilant with these.

If you want the braces worn by Miley Cyrus (yeap She has one!), you can try lingual braces

Regular Dental Check-Up: A Way To Get Ahead Of Dental Caries

For most of us, we seldom visit our dentists for regular check up or even for a dental treatment. We only do so if we experience something different, maybe something painful, with our teeth. That is the only time when we consult the professional for dental treatment. But for mild sensitivities, we would rather prescribe ourselves with a pain-reliever than pay huge amounts when we go to the dentist.

Oftentimes, we compromise our teeth. Without the regular dental check up and dental treatment, our teeth are more prone to cavitations and bacterial infections. We will only realize our mistake when there is no choice but to extract it. In other words, we realize that we chose the wrong decisions in the end when it is already too late.

Thankfully, dentistry has evolved from a mere pain-relieving practice to a preventive one. Most of the dental treatment today deals with preventing the root cause of these dental diseases. Preventive dentistry is thus responsible for managing the disease before it progresses into a more serious condition.

For example, that chalky appearance on your tooth may not be that serious but if you underestimate that it could lead to demineralization! This means that your tooth's mineral components will be more susceptible to acid attacks and therefore rendering them weaker. The result? Dental caries!

If you think a preventive dental treatment is painful, think again. For example, fissure sealant treatment usually seals off your tooth making it less susceptible to acid attacks, hence attack by dental caries. This treatment involves grinding a little of enamel on your tooth and applying sealant on it and that's it!

From here, you'll see that we cannot just neglect the small changes in our oral cavity. It is very important for us to be vigilant with taking care of our teeth. Our teeth provide us a lot of functions. That is why it is very important to get ahead of dental caries by seeking professional help and receiving the proper dental treatment that you need.

Dental Instruments: They're Not Getting Any Cheaper

For those who are planning to take Dentistry as a course in college, please prepare yourself for a financial torture.

Yes! Dentistry is a really expensive course. Unlike other medical courses, Dentists and student dentists are required to buy the not-so-cheap instruments. Dental instruments are like dentists' "bestfriend" and students are trained to familiarize themselves with these instruments. This is the very reason why they are expected to buy these.

Most of the instruments, both manual and automatic, really cost a fortune. If you are not careful with your dental instruments, you will end up losing them. This is true especially for dental students. Dental students, because they have to juggle between education and clinical practice, would always fight over lost instruments. This kind of situation would not only lose you money but may also cause emotional trauma. A sample scenario: Student A lost a very expensive instrument and he accused Student B of stealing it. Student B would be really agitated especially if the accusation is not true. So, the result? A friendship broken and wasted money because of a lost instrument.

Parents should be fully aware of the expenses that are associated with the dentistry course. Parents should help their future dentists in making the right decisions when choosing the right dental instruments. I know parents would not want to settle for anything less so you always choose the one with excellent quality. However, you have to keep in mind that not all instruments need to be expensive for it to function excellently. The key here is the proper knowledge of the uses of the instrument and the skill to handle it well.

In spite of all these, dental students can really benefit from the durability of these instruments. Some of these really last a lifetime - and I mean this literally! All it takes is your tender-loving care.