One of the things that people can tell about you is your smile. Hence, you must take care of this essential part of your face. Having white teeth is not the only thing when it comes to dental health. By taking care of your teeth and gums, you are building self-confidence and enhancing your overall health. With these easy steps, you will be able to maintain your teeth healthy and looking healthy for years to come.

1. Brush Properly

The first and most basic tip on dental health is brushing your teeth. At least twice a day, you need to brush your teeth, in the morning and before going to bed, with a soft-bristle toothbrush and absorbent toothpaste (fluoride). The toothbrush should be placed at a 45-degree angle towards your gums and used in circular motions with minimum force. Brush gently, but avoid brushing too hard because this may ruin your gums and enamel. Taking two or more minutes to clean your teeth ensures that all sides of your teeth, including the molars that are normally skipped, are thoroughly cleaned.

2. Floss Every Day

Flossing is equally essential to brushing since it removes food and plaque between your teeth, which a toothbrush cannot access. Without flossing, such rarely accessible areas are prone to the development of bacteria, which eventually causes gum disease and dental caries. Brushing your teeth before going to bed is the most appropriate time to floss because your mouth will be clean throughout the night. Apply soft, in and out movements and wrap the floss around the teeth. Use floss picks or a water flosser instead of the regular floss for an easy experience.

3. Eat A Tooth-Friendly Diet

The food you consume has a tremendous effect on your oral health. Sugary foods such as candy, soda, and sugary snacks are favorite foods of bacteria that lead to the development of dental caries. Instead, opt to eat tooth-friendly foods, including solid fruits and vegetables, cheese, yogurt and nuts. Such foods assist in cleaning the teeth and increasing saliva production, and they give minerals to strengthen the enamel. Consuming enough water would also thoroughly clean the food elements and normal bacteria that may be present in the mouth. This would ensure that your mouth stays fresh throughout the day.

4. Visit Your Dentist Often

Regular checkups and cleaning should be done every six months, even when your teeth are feeling good, with your dentist. The dentists are able to monitor early symptoms of illness such as cavities, gum disease and oral cancer even before they develop into something worse. Professional cleanings take away plaque and tartar that cannot be taken care of with brushing and flossing alone. When your dentist suggests other remedies, such as fluoride treatment or sealings, take the advice as they can take care of your teeth even more.

5. Dental Implants for Missing Teeth

If you have lost one or more of your teeth, one of the most effective solutions to restore your smile is through dental implants, which help preserve oral health. A dental implant is a small titanium rod pushed into the jawbone, then fitted with a crown, which serves as the substitute root to your missing tooth.

In some cases, where your teeth are severely impaired, it may lead to cavities, gum disease and infection of adjacent teeth. In this case, your dentist may recommend getting dental implants. In my case, I opted to get dental implants done in Fort Worth for my broken teeth after realizing it’s becoming sore and difficult to bite. The implants not only gave me my life back but also helped me smile again with confidence.

6. Safeguard Your Teeth

Chipping, cracking, and gradual wearing down of your teeth is possible even with strong teeth. Avoid chewing on hard things such as ice, pen caps, and fingernails because you risk damaging your enamel. Contact sports players should wear a mouthguard to cushion their teeth against accidents. During the night, grinding your teeth may also lead to damage. Thus, if you experience jaw pain or worn teeth, discuss the night guard with your dentist.

7. Give Up Bad Habits

Some habits carry the risk of severely harming your teeth and gums. For example, tobacco smoking and chewing may stain your teeth, lead to gum disease and expose you to oral cancer. Excessive alcohol or the consumption of acidic beverages like soda or sports drinks can cause the weakening of your enamel. Habits such as snacking all the time can also lead to tooth damage because the bacteria will be provided with constant sugary snacks to feed on. Eliminating these habits can significantly improve your dental health.

Understanding Dementia

Dementia is a touchy subject for a lot of people. It has become sadly all too common for someone to know a relative or loved one who has slowly been lost to it. But most people don’t fully understand what dementia actually is. Assuming it is a singular condition. In reality dementia is the name given to a grouping of neurological conditions that impact different areas of the brain.

People also wrongly assume that dementia is a natural part of growing old. This isn’t true either. It is just more common in older people. But anyone can suffer from dementia. Which is why researchers around the globe are working tirelessly to better understand the different conditions that make up dementia. And, more importantly, how to deal with them.

There is no cure for dementia as it stands. But medical science has come a long way. We have a number of different medications and treatments that can help alleviate the symptoms. Recently there have been a number of interesting studies looking into the use of video games in relation to dealing with dementia symptoms. And the results are fascinating.

A Novel Environment

Back in 2020 a study was conducted entitled ‘Enriching hippocampal memory function in older adults through video games.’ Quite the mouthful to be sure. But their premise focused on the idea of what they called a novel environment. A novel environment is one that is filled with different novel sensory inputs. A good example of this would be to picture the difference between an empty bedroom and one that has been decorated with paintings, posters, bookshelves, and various trinkets. One is obviously going to be more appealing than the other.

The study suggested that people who can’t enter into novel environments, due to age or other limiting factors such as a lack of mobility, will experience greater cognitive decline. They also suggest that there needs to be a regular introduction of new novel environments too.

The study used one of the 3D mario games to test this theory. One group would play Mario while another would play a classic 2D version of solitaire. The results showed that the participants playing Mario experienced greater recognition memory. The study did note that 2D games are still viable for helping improve cognition as long as they are offering a more varied sensory environment.

This study has led a lot of doctors to start suggesting that older patients, or ideally anyone who lacks access to a range of novel environments, spend more time playing a lot of free online games or console games. Particularly those that provide players with a unique sensory experience that vastly differs from what is on offer in their daily lives.

Improving Mental Facilities

While that particular study was primarily focused on improving recognition memory in relation to the environment it isn’t the only aspect of dementia that is being studied in relation to video games. Recognition memory, while important, is not the only mental facility that needs to be maintained and strengthened to help prevent symptoms of dementia.

One of the lesser discussed symptoms of dementia is decreased motor function. This is often due to the fact that dementia is more common in the elderly. And people of an advanced age tend to have worse motor functions anyway due to the natural decline. But decreased motor function is often a brain issue, not a muscle issue.

Video games have been proven to be extremely effective at improving the motor cortex in the brain. The hand-eye coordination required to play video games effectively is an amazing way to increase fine moto skills. The process of having to memorize button inputs and their impact on the game is also a great memory exercise.

VR gaming has also become very popular in regards to helping people with dementia. There are a number of fitness focused games that can help people keep their body fit while also helping create a novel environment. VR technology is advancing year by year. And has very quickly moved out of just being a video game focused gimmick. It is even being used to help people who suffer from PTSD.

The Conclusion

Whenever studies like the one mentioned are conducted people like to quickly jump to conclusions. Assuming that this latest research path could be the ultimate end to dementia. But it is important to take the results garnered from these studies with a grain of salt.

Yes, video games can be useful in combatting dementia. Provided they are used in the right ways. But, like any preventative measure, they are not a cure. They are a coping tool. Albeit a very useful one. Gaming is often looked at under a negative light these days. But it holds a lot of potential for good in our world.

If you are someone that requires medical insurance, then you will know just how annoying it can be to find an insurance company with your best interest in mind. We are a lead generation, which means that we are always on the lookout for the best insurance companies to meet our needs and if you have been lucky enough to find an insurance lead, you may be excited to set up an account and get yourself protected.

Before you can commit to an insurance company, you must first take the time to read their terms and conditions. Within these terms and conditions you are likely to find clauses and here are some of the clauses you should look out for.

Pre and post hospital expenses

Something that you may not know is that your health insurance may either cover you on just pre or post hospitalisation expenses. This means that you may be covered on any doctors appointments but when it comes to actually going to hospital, you may not have the same coverage.

You should also not assume that everything medical related is covered by your medical insurance, as they will unfortunately take any step that they can in order to avoid paying out more money that you can. So if you take part in something like acupuncture or naturopathy, it is likely that your insurance will not cover the cost, even if you consider it to be a medical expense.

When it comes to pre and post hospital expenses , different insurance companies have periods between doctor and hospital treatments. So if you think that a set of treatment counts under the same claim, you may be wrong as the time between it may categorise it as two different points of treatment.  This may mean that you have additional premiums on top of your insurance, so you should look into this.

The waiting period

This clause is very often neglected when people first purchase their insurance and for this reason, people often forget that it exists.  Every time you purchase insurance, it comes with a waiting period. This means that you can not use your insurance straight away and if you experience any injury before your waiting period then you may have to pay for the bill out of your own money.

On top of having a waiting period for when you first purchase your insurance, there is also a waiting period between claims. This waiting period can be upwards of 60 days, so if you injure yourself several times within a small period of time you may not be covered and you will have to cover any of the expenses yourself, so be sure to check what the wait period is on whichever insurance agreement you make.

Insurance limits

When you purchase insurance, you may initially believe that you are completely covered on all injuries with your claim, but this really isn’t the case. Every insurance company has their limits and it would be impossible for them to be able to cover all injuries, as it would be too expensive.

If you are someone that has some serious health issues and you know that you will be dependent on your health insurance quite frequently. There are yearly limits on what your insurance company is willing to pay out and if you are frequently needing medical assistance, you will reach this limit quite quickly and may have to pay premiums to compensate for the extra care that you have needed .

Remember to always read the fine print when it comes to insurance, as you never know what has been hidden.