The Science of Dentistry

Rinser Toothbrush

Bending over at the sink and scooping water into your mouth is about as difficult as turning the tap on.  Think about it – barbarians, cavemen, and everyone before inside plumbing existed, has resorted to this method of drinking from streams, lakes, and even stagnant pools of water.  But with the evolution of man, and ulitimately laziness, this is apparently no longer acceptable.

TUNG Brush

According to clinical research, one of the leading causes of bad breath are the odor-causing bacteria that hide on your tongue amidst the vast tiny crevices, nooks & crannies and taste buds. Well, since there are dedicated brushes for cleaning all other parts of the body, the tongue finally has one too, the TUNG Brush!

Types of tootbrushes

Choosing the right toothbrush can seem daunting when you’re standing before the multi-colored array of brushes on store shelves. Should you splurge on an electric rechargeable or try the battery-operated one first? Would you prefer a rotating or vibrating head? How about the cheek and tongue cleaner? Or will you just toss your favourite medium-sized, soft bristle brush into the cart until next time.

Eating Disorders and Teeth

There indeed is a connection between eating disorders and dental health.  Exploring it may uncover some uncomfortable issues but it is important to do so in order to make sure your children are healthy.  Dental (tooth) erosion can be a sign of bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by food binges followed by self-induced vomiting.

Mouthwash

While mouthwash is not an alternative to regular brushing and flossing, it can help keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy. There are several different types of mouthwashes available, and all of them will help do different things for your smile. The most common types of mouthwashes are:

Dry Mouth

Ever experienced a dry mouth?  It happens to all of us every once in a while.  We all need saliva to moisten and cleanse our mouths, keep bacteria under control, and to help us digest our food properly. 

Dental Erosion

One of the first signs of an eating disorder and often a give-away of a sufferer is poor oral hygiene.  Not the typical minor dental issues that may result from skipping out on a few brushings, but on the contrary, the results of excessive brushing and stomach acids making contact with the teeth, as in the case of eating disorders.

Bad Breath Detector

Looking for a way to test your breath before friends, family or even strangers subtly offer you a breath freshener? Don’t rely on brutally honest little kids and loved ones to tell you when you have bad breath — let technology do it for you! This is where the halitosis detector comes in.

Dried Licorice Root

Scientists are reporting identification of two substances in licorice – used extensively in Chinese traditional medicine – that kill the major bacteria responsible for tooth decay and gum disease, the leading causes of tooth loss in children and adults. In a study in American Chemical Society’s Journal of Natural Products, they say that these substances could have a role in treating and preventing tooth decay and gum disease.

Beam Brush

Self monitoring of activity levels using accelerometer activated devices like Striiv and FitBit is all the rage these days, and now the field is expanding into dentistry thanks to the Beam Brush.  The device transmits data about its use via Bluetooth to a matching smartphone app that keeps track of when and for how long the brush was used for.

Brushing Teeth

Using your toothbrush too enthusiastically can permanently damage teeth and gums.  People who brush longer and harder than necessary not only fail to make their teeth cleaner but actually risk harming themselves, a study shows.

Halitosis

There’s no way around it – bad breath is embarrassing. Chronic bad breath can seem like a nemesis, constantly foiling your plans and preventing you from engaging in social activities. We know what to avoid food-wise: anchovies, onions, garlic, etc., but what else can you do?  Consider these helpful tips to help you overcome bad breath and start smiling again!

Sensitve Teeth

Having sensitive teeth is, literally, a big pain.  Sensitive teeth develop when the gums recede away from the teeth or when the enamel is cracked or worn off the teeth.  This can happen for a variety of reasons, including the types of liquids you drink, age, brushing habits, or not taking good care of your teeth.

If you have an ultra-cool modern styled house, loft, apartment, whatever, this toothbrush sanitizer is for you.  I guess you could also buy it because its UV light kills 99.9% of the germs that will accumulate on your toothbrush.

Dry Mouth

Dry mouth, or xerostomia to medical professionals, occurs in 25% of older adults and has even been reported to occur in 10% of adults in their 30′s.  Dry mouth is a condition that can have a negative impact on your oral health.  It also impacts your ability to eat food and speak, and has been said to cause bad breath.

Ultra-clean your mouth with a new micro-cleaning process powered by 100% pure ultrasound.  The development of an ultrasonic device to clean your teeth and mouth with ultrasound, represents a revolution in the field of dental hygiene and prophylaxis treatment. Until today, teeth could only be cleaned using abrasive methods by “applying abrasive particles“ in toothpaste. The brush cleans areas where the bristles reach.

Until 2010, Amelia Nuwer, 22, visited the same dentist every year in Biloxi, Miss., her hometown. And every year she came back with a clean bill of dental health: no fillings necessary.  Then, as a junior at the University of Alabama, she saw a new dentist who delivered her first negative diagnosis: two cavities. Six months later, the dentist told her she had two more. Earlier this year, he once again had bad news: yet another cavity.

Stealth Toothbrush Sanitizer

It’s pretty obvious that we should sanitize our cell phones, right?  After all, we toss them down on tables or fiddle with them even when we’re on the can  (not the most pleasant of thoughts).  A toothbrush, though, is often over looked since we jam it in our mouth and it never leaves the bathroom.  But the bathroom is the place we wash dirt and grime off ourselves so it stands to reason that there might be more of it floating around in there than even the kitchen.

Smart Bomb Mouthwash

A mouthwash concocted by a UCLA microbiologist may render cavities and tooth decay a thing of the past.  The experimental new smart bomb mouthwash it says might keep you out of the dentist’s chair with just one rinse every four days.

Toothpaste

It is true that plaque can be removed without the use of toothpaste, and especially when having a demonstration of oral hygiene techniques. It’s a lot easier to see what’s going on when your mouth is not foaming!

Oral dryness, or xerostomia as it is also known, is the health condition in which due to malfunctioning, the salivary glands do not produce enough saliva.

Sonicare AirFloss

Dental professionals inform us that cleaning between the teeth is essential to good tooth and gum health but regular flossing can be at best time consuming and at worst painful. Philips has introduced a new member to its Sonicare range of dental care products at IFA 2011 that dislodges interdental plaque and bacteria with rapid bursts of air and water. The cordless Sonicare AirFloss is about the same size as a standard electric toothbrush and features an angled nozzle with guidance tip for precision placement.

As far as technology goes, toothbrushes and other oral hygiene technology has hit a dead end. Seems like every day I see ads for new toothbrush technology promising to make our teeth cleaner, and I can’t help but wonder what more can be improved on simple brushing and flossing. Some of the stuff these toothbrush manufacturers come up feels made up, a product of an R&D Department with way too much time on their hands.

I thought I had seen it all — Justin Bieber dolls, trading cards, calendars — but I never thought I would see the day when JB’s likeness would appear on a toothbrush.

Introduce a Scandinavian product design company to a Japanese oral care factory and what will you get? Yumaki… and 18 great looking, ergonomic toothbrushes with names like “Speed”, “Rasta”, and “Nerd”.