Archive for October 21st, 2009
October 21st, 2009 -- Posted in Uncategorized |
Welcome back!
Protecting Your Smile While Wearing Braces
When you get braces, caring for your teeth becomes very important, and more care will be needed than usual. Watching what you eat and how you care for you braces is vital to ensuring your braces bring you the results you desire. With proper care and routine cleaning, you can guarantee yourself a radiant smile when you are finished with your orthodontic treatment.
Flossing and Brushing Tips For Your Braces
While wearing braces, the risk of gum disease and tooth decay is much higher as food particles and bacteria are easily lodged in and around the wires. If not cared for properly, this build up can stain your teeth and lead to tooth decay.
Routine brushing and flossing are more important than ever and should be done correctly and regularly. If possible, brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste after every meal. Follow by rinsing with a fluoride mouthwash to remove any remaining food that may be trapped in your wires. Flossing will be more challenging with braces, but is necessary for removing food from those hard to reach places. Feed the floss between the wires to reach the spaces between your teeth and use a gentle sawing motion to work the floss in and out of your teeth.
Ask your orthodontist about special cleaning aids such as a proxabrush, which is specially designed to clean between wires and appliances.
Braces- Friendly Diet
You will want to monitor your behavior and eating habits when wearing braces. Such habits can bend, break or loosen your braces and should be avoided.
Luckily, most foods can still be eaten if cut into small pieces or mashed so that they can be easily chewed. Enjoy an ear of corn by removing the corn from the cob, or cut your apple into small pieces rather than eating it as a whole. Refrain from chewing bubble gum, ice and other chewy foods like taffy or caramels. Hard foods like nuts, popcorn and hard pretzels can also damage your braces and should not be eaten until your braces are removed.
Try to avoid habits such as pencil chewing, nail biting and picking at your wires as this can also lead to broken braces. Keep in mind that broken braces will require extra appointments and time. Make an appointment immediately if yours are damaged so that your orthodontic treatment won’t be delayed.
Protect your Mouth
If you participate in sports that require physical contact, you will want to be especially careful while wearing your braces. Any contact to the mouth could not only break or damage your braces, but it could seriously injure your teeth and gums. When playing sports where there is chance of getting struck in the mouth, wear a custom designed mouth guard. These durable mouth pieces fit over your braces and teeth and protect your mouth tissue from painful contact with your braces.
Caring for your braces will require a little more time and effort on your part, but is necessary to keep your teeth and gums healthy. Remember that caring for your braces is only temporary, but your new, beautiful smile will last a lifetime!
Sean Hartmen writes for the Baltimore orthodontist. This Baltimore invisalign dentist specializes inn orthodontia care and Invisalign treatment (http://www.drmarkovitz.com/).
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/protecting-your-smile-while-wearing-braces-1361758.html
October 21st, 2009 -- Posted in Uncategorized |
Our skin is constantly exposed to free radicals from the environment day in and out. These free radicals damage our skin and cause it to age faster. The last thing we need is a set of chemical-laden skincare products which harms our skin more than it nourishes it.
While nutrition and exercise are vital to healthy skin, it is equally important that we protect our skin to ensure it remains healthy and radiant. Increased awareness for protecting our earth has resulted in revolutionised products from the beauty industry. Natural urban skincare products made from organic ingredients are gradually replacing potentially harmful chemical-laden products. They are made without artificial fragrances, colorants and preservatives and thus can be used safely without worrying that they will cause breakouts or irritations.
Our skin falls into 4 main categories - dry/combo, normal-to-dry, dry and sensitive. It is important to select natural skincare products which are specially formulated according to the various skin types to suit their specific needs. No matter what skin type we belong to, our skin needs basic skincare - cleansing, toning and moisturising.
Cleansing removes dirt and makeup and reduces oiliness. This helps to keep our skin healthy looking. It is important to select a cleanser that is able to thoroughly cleanse our skin without stripping it of its natural moisture. Secondly, toning reinstates our skin’s pH value. Antioxidants in the toner help to calm our skin and lightly moisturises it. Lastly, moisturisers are applied day and night to cleansed skin as a protection against free radicals and other harmful elements in the environment. Since they are loaded with natural vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants, they also nourish and preserve the skin’s elasticity to produce a firm, healthy and younger appearance. Night moisturisers usually contain different types of nutrients from day moisturisers. Usually, they help reduce fine lines and wrinkles while our cells are regenerating at night. Cells which are damaged in the day are also repaired to revive the skin’s radiance and elasticity.
Other than the basic cleansing regime, additional attention should also be given to exfoliating and detoxifying our skin to protect it from urban stresses such as the damage from the sun or makeup products. Organic marine or clay masques penetrate deep pores to perform a deep-cleansing function, and at the same time, hydrate and nourishes the skin with vitamins and antioxidants. Non-abrasive exfoliation products gently remove dead skin and cells, encourages circulation and collagen production to improve the skin’s vitality. Sunscreen is a daily necessity against UVA and UVB rays which is the leading cause of premature skin aging.
While we place emphasis on our faces, we should not neglect other parts of our skin. Our hands, feet, and neck are areas which are also exposed to free radicals and harmful elements in the environment which can easily cause premature aging. Therefore, it is important to use natural skincare products that are specially formulated for use on our body. We probably do not want a radiant looking face with dry and wrinkled hands. Skincare experts advise that facial products should also be applied to our neck and collarbone area, while our hands and feet are sufficiently moisturised to prevent aging and to maintain their suppleness.
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Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/protecting-your-skin-with-natural-skin-care-1362095.html
October 21st, 2009 -- Posted in Uncategorized |
There are a number of reasons why someone might need esophageal surgery. Cancer, esophageal diverticula, GERD, and certain motility disorders are all reasons why this type of surgery might be recommended by your doctor. Regardless of why you or someone you know has to have esophageal surgery, it is important to understand the possible complications that may follow such a procedure.
Common Complications
Some of the most common complications following esophageal surgery include damage to the surrounding organs and/or tissues. It is important to realize this going in, as sometimes even the simplest of procedures can prove to be tricky at some point during the operation. There is a small percentage of a chance that your spleen, liver, esophagus, or stomach might be injured to some degree during your surgery.
Discuss these possibilities with your physician before your procedure so that you will have a better understanding of what might happen during the course of your treatment. Should any type of injury or damage occur, the severity of the resulting complications will depend on the extent of the damage that has been inflicted.
Another complication of esophageal surgery is that it is not reversible, so any damage done during your operation is not likely to be correctable. Of course, this makes esophageal surgery an even greater risk than many other types of surgery, so please discuss your options thoroughly with your physician before choosing surgery as your best option.
You should also be aware that many of the symptoms related to complications from this type of surgery are not treatable. This simply adds to the risk factors associated with having esophageal surgery, and it gives patients much more to think about as they consider this type of treatment option.
A relatively small percentage of patients may experience difficulty swallowing, bloating, gas, or vomiting for an extended period of time following esophageal surgery. In some instances, patients have quickly developed permanent changes in their bowel habits. Unfortunately, these are complications that simply cannot be predicted prior to surgery.
An especially uncomfortable complication that may arise after surgery is the esophagus sliding out of the section of the stomach that is wrapped. If this were to happen, the valve would no longer be supported and would require immediate medical attention.
Recurring heartburn is, ironically, another common complication following this type of procedure. Many of these types of surgeries are performed to help alleviate such symptoms, yet often times the heartburn returns (or in fact never really goes away).
Complications from anesthesia are always a risk with any type of surgery, but your physician should be able to discuss this with you in-depth prior to your procedure so that you feel more at ease about your particular risk of complications.
Lastly, with any type of surgery there is also a risk of infection or internal bleeding. Because of these risks you will more than likely have to remain in the hospital for at least a few days following your procedure so that your condition can be monitored regularly.
Ultimately, it will be up to you to make an informed decision regarding whether you think the risks associated with esophageal surgery are worth it. Talk to your doctor and explore any other alternatives that you may have before you commit to this procedure.
Marc Courtiol is a contributing author to the Reflux Defense guide, a natural system for eliminating GERD and heartburn and an explanation of why you need stomach acid.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/complications-of-esophageal-surgery-1362097.html
