Top Ten Tips for Improving Bad Breath -- Dr. Ray Partovy

Call it by its fancy name, “halitosis,” and it won’t smell any sweeter. Bad breath is frequently a sign that you’re not keeping up with your oral health. The source of this unpleasant odor is, in most cases, bacteria living on your teeth, gums or tongue. Follow these ten tips from Dr. Ray Partovy for a breath of fresh air:

1. Brush your choppers twice each day. Better yet, brush after every meal. If you eat lunch at work or school, keep an extra toothbrush there. Also, be sure to replace your toothbrush regularly. Every few months, swap your brush for a fresh one.

2. Reach between your teeth. Flossing daily helps you remove food particles from between your teeth, where your toothbrush just can’t reach. Flossing also helps keep your gums healthy, preventing periodontal disease, which can also lead to bad breath. If using regular floss is difficult for you, try one of the many interdental cleaners available at drugstores.

3. Pick up a water pick. Along with floss, a water pick reaches spots your toothbrush can’t, like under your tongue and into the back of your mouth.

4. Treat your tongue right. Bacteria can gather on the surface of your tongue, so use a soft-bristled toothbrush or a tongue scraper to clean it every time you brush.

5. Tap your inner teenager and chew gum. The act of chewing (sugarless!) gum stimulates the production of saliva, which naturally washes away bacteria and food particles. If you suffer from a lack of saliva due to “dry mouth,” a condition sometimes caused by medication, let your dentist know; he or she can help address the problem.

6. Don’t fall for the myth of mouthwash. Most mouthwashes merely mask the smell of bad breath and don’t do anything to solve the underlying problem.

7. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Drink water regularly to keep your mouth moist, and go easy on alcohol and caffeine, both of which are dehydrating.

8. Turn off the tobacco. Smoking and chewing tobacco lead to bad breath. They also increase your risk of a host of serious health problems, from periodontal disease to cancer.

9. Take note of what you take in. Certain diets, foods and medications can affect your breath. If your problem doesn’t appear to be oral, make a list of the foods you eat and medications you take. Review it with your dentist or your family doctor to assess the source of the problem.

10. Call in the experts. It’s important to have your teeth professionally checked and cleaned twice a year. Your dentist can give your teeth a thorough cleaning that isn’t possible at home, as well as check for and treat early signs of problems such as cavities or periodontal disease.

In rare cases, persistent bad breath can be a sign of a larger health problem. The American Dental Association lists possible medical sources of bad breath, including respiratory infection, chronic sinusitis, postnasal drip, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, gastrointestinal disturbance, and liver or kidney ailments. If your dentist suspects that your breath problem stems from a medical issue, he or she will recommend speaking with your family doctor immediately.

Hope this helps! From Dr. Ray Partovy

Soft Drinks -- Trouble For Your Teeth--Dr. Ray Partovy

At Dr. Ray Partovy's office, we know that when you sit down to dinner or grab a sandwich for lunch, you wouldn’t have a side of nine teaspoons of sugar. But that’s exactly what you’re taking in when you pair a meal with a 12-ounce can of soda pop.

Soft drinks are a poor choice for your overall health, since they have no nutritional value, and they contain sugar and caffeine. And when it comes to your teeth, soft drinks can cause big trouble. The steep servings of sugar create the perfect condition for cavities to form, while the phosphoric and citric acids in soda pop can erode and weaken your enamel – the outer coating on your teeth – making it tougher for your teeth to withstand the onslaught of sugar.

Both the Canadian and American Dental Associations recommend limiting your intake of soft drinks. And if you do occasionally indulge in a fizzy beverage, it’s a good idea to drink it with a straw, to reduce exposure to your teeth. Brushing your teeth afterward, or at least swishing with water, can help remove the sugar from your teeth.

Having trouble cutting back? Try these tricks from Dr. Ray Partovy to help wean yourself from a steady diet of soft drinks:

--Don’t quit cold turkey: Start by swapping one soda each day with an alternate drink, preferably water. Gradually increase your swaps until you’re down to one soft drink a day, then one every two days, then one a week, and so on.

--Switch to tea: If you’re looking for a source of caffeine, tea is much healthier than soda pop. Just remember not to add nine teaspoons of sugar to it.

--Switch to seltzer: If it’s the fizz or the flavor you’re after, try a sugar-free flavored water or seltzer.

--Remember your goals: If you’re wavering in your commitment to cut back on soda pop, remember the health problems it can cause.

--Be patient: Adjusting a habit doesn’t happen overnight. Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to change your diet.

Everybody Is Brushing With Dr. Partovy

Everybody is brushing with Dr. Partovy. Watch this fun video to show the kids the importance of oral health!

Nifty "Eggs"periment from Dr. Partovy

Summer is drawing near. If the little ones aren’t going to camp, you may run out of ideas to keep them occupied. Why not use a fun and simple science experiment to focus their attention for a while? At Dr. Ray Partovy's office, we found one that includes a lesson about why it’s important to brush teeth to make plaque go away.

Gather the items you will need for this experiment:

--1 hard-boiled egg with the shell on
--12 ounces of Coke, Pepsi or other dark-colored cola
--1 container large enough to hold the cola and egg
--1 plastic bowl
--1 toothbrush
--1 drop of fluoride toothpaste
--Clean-up supplies

Explain to your child that plaque is a sticky layer of germs that collects on her teeth. If she doesn’t brush, plaque can cause serious problems for her teeth, for example holes in the teeth (cavities) or swollen gums (gingivitis). Tell her that you are going to do an experiment to see how plaque coats her teeth, and why brushing twice a day is important for healthy teeth and gums.

Conduct the experiment:

1. Make the comparison between the white color of the egg and the white color of your child's teeth.

2. Place the egg into the container and pour the cola over it, so that it completely covers the egg.

3. Let the egg sit in the cola for 24 hours.

4. Remove the egg from the cola. The egg will be stained and yellowish.
5. Explain to your child that the colored layer that has appeared on top of the eggshell is just like the layer of plaque that occurs on her teeth.

6. Place the egg in the plastic bowl and give your child the toothbrush with the drop of toothpaste on it.

7. Let her brush the "plaque" off of the egg. The yellowish film will disappear, exposing the white eggshell. Explain that the same thing happens when she brushes her teeth.

--Dr. Ray Partovy and Staff