Conventional sports dentistry focuses on treating and preventing athletic injuries to the face and teeth. This focus tends to be somewhat limited. Holistic sports dentistry goes beyond preventing and treating injury and focuses on the impact that dental procedures and materials can have on the athlete’s overall well-being.

Holistic dentistry is an approach that considers many different factors when deciding on a course of action. Holistic dentists are focused on overall health that acknowledges a connection between oral and overall health. The connection is significant because oral health has a direct influence on overall health. Diagnosis and appropriate corrective treatment is vital not only to the health of the teeth but also to the health of the body.

A holistic sports dentist evaluates jawbone and bite imbalances, as these can influence the entire skeleton. Holistic dentists are also aware of possible toxic effects of some more commonly used dental materials, including mercury from silver amalgam fillings, fluoride, root canals, periodontitis, and cavities.

When injuries are severe, treatment options may include root canals, crowns, implants, or bonding. A holistic sports dentist seeks to minimize any negative impact on the body that can result from common materials and procedures. Holistic dentistry follows ancient Chinese medicine and holds that each tooth is located along pathways known as ‘meridians’. Holistic dentists consider what influence a treatment may have on other systems located on a given meridian.

Besides sports related injuries to teeth, sports dentists are also concerned with consumption of high sugar sports drinks, tobacco, and anorexia and bulimia. All of these are common in athletes and can be detrimental to the teeth.

Proper diagnosis and treatment of these issues cannot only improve an athletes oral health, it can also improve strength, balance, coordination, anxiety, and recovery from injuries.

Preseason exams can help prevent injury. Exams should include medical history, risk conditions, jar relationships, loose teeth, previous restoration work, and the possible need of wisdom tooth extraction. Extractions and other treatments should be done well before the season begins to allow time for healing. Failure to do so could increase risk of jaw fracture. Custom mouthguards may be made during this exam.

Recent research shows more and more that conditions affecting dental health have a direct influence on overall health. Comprehensive strategies offer the best solutions for improving health of mind and body, which is important for any athlete to meet his or her potential both on the field and off.

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At first glance, Botox injections and dentistry are about as alike as broccoli and french fries, but they actually go together quite well.  Both call for specialized equipment that requires continuous sterilization and both need injections quite often.  Both call for a thorough understanding of the muscles and nerves in the face.  When done right, both offer results that delight the patient.  As time goes on, more and more dentists across the country are being trained to administer Botox safely and effectively, we will find that Botox and dentistry will go together like cheese and fine wine.

While it still may not seem entirely logical for dentists to offer Botox, when examined closely it begins to make sense.  Who is better qualified to offer a medical procedures like Botox than medical professionals?  And with the possible exception of plastic surgeons, what type of medical professional is more focused on the face and one’s appearance than a dentist?  The medical training one undergoes to become a dentist includes most of what is needed to become qualified to administer Botox.

Because dentists see many of their patients at least twice a year for cleanings and checkups, they already have a client base with whom they have built relationships based on trust.  Some dentists may have hundreds, even thousands, of people who already know them well enough to speak highly of them to friends.  What’s more, a large part of dentistry is focused on helping patients look their best, not just stay healthy.

For all of these reasons and more, many dentists are coming to the realization that being trained to administer Botox to patients who are already in their office on a regular basis is a good idea.  Botox training is not difficult for someone who already gives many injections as a regular part of their practice, and the actual procedure takes only minutes.

At this rate, it won’t be long before it will be commonplace for people to get Botox injections when they go in for dental exams and cleanings, and for Botox administration to be part of every dentist’s initial training.

Reference: http://dentox.com/botox-edu-news/botox-courses-dentists/

When we think about luxuries nowadays, there are many things that we can consider: large and beautiful homes, a multitude of cars and people to drive them for us, champagne and all of the food that we can eat, as well as the very best clothes that we can wear before anyone else. But if you had asked your grandparents what a luxury was, the chances are that they would have a completely different answer. In fact, the things that they would talk about may completely surprise you. That is because until after the First World War, very few people would every buy anything that we would consider to be toothpaste.

The luxury of clean and healthy teeth is something that we should definitely not be taking lightly. Some of the very first luxury toothpaste that was ever made on a large scale was created by Ziryab, a Persian musician and fashion designer that lived in the 800s. The Arabs in the ninth century had this recipe for toothpaste that was closely guarded, and because of that no actual description of what was in it has been discovered. However, many people have tried to guess, and many believe that it would be very similar to the toothpaste that was being used in England and the United States of America in the 1700s. There were two main types of toothpaste at this time; one made mainly of chalk, and one made mainly of charcoal.

Thankfully we no longer have to brush our teeth with charcoal or chalk, but we can simply walk into our bathrooms and reach out – and there is toothpaste. We should try to make sure that we value the luxury of clean and healthy teeth each day that we use our toothpaste to keep our teeth clean.

Reference:  BestToothpaste.net

No, this not an article on THAT kind of grinding – instead, we want to talk a little bit about the medical kind of grinding. It is becoming more and more apparent that people that love to game will often come under a certain amount of stress as they play. That is only natural after all, especially when there is a different part of the game. However, what many gamers do not realise is that during these complicated parts of the game, they could very well be unintentionally and totally unconsciously grinding their teeth. Many people will do it when they are asleep and having nightmares, and those that work in high pressure jobs often do it completely unknowingly. However, more and more gamers are grinding their teeth, and over time this can actually cause a huge amount of damage on their teeth. Some people will actually even lose teeth because they have been unwittingly grinding on them for so long.

Only a holistic dentist would be able to put this together, as they are much more interested in viewing their patients as entire individuals, rather than just staring into their mouths for minutes on end! They will be able to figure out that gamers who grind need to find different ways in which to temper their concentration. Over time, absolutely anyone can change their habits, but it does take twenty one days to do so. That means that if you have noticed that when you game, you grind your teeth a little bit, then you need to take active steps in order to prevent yourself from doing it. After a couple of weeks, you will stop doing it automatically. Your teeth will be much healthier for it, and you can use all of that extra brain power in order to concentrate on your gaming.

Gaming really means that you are going to have to do an awful lot with your brain. You will be learning new things and having to take in a huge amount of information quickly. Your hand to eye coordination will improve, as will your motor skills. A gamer’s memory is absolutely extraordinary and will continue to get better and better over time. The ability to adapt and the capacity to anticipate will also become much better than someone who is not a seasoned gamer – and these are just some of the changes and experiences that a gamer will have.

Many people in high level jobs are gamers, and they have learned their bartering skills or their ability to do three things at once through playing games. Many professions such as homeopathic dentists or school teachers have learned to bring two completely different ideas together and present them to an audience. Anyone who deals with numbers could have learned those skills through a game, and they would not even have realised it.

You probably haven’t realised all of the amazing benefits you have been receiving as you have been gaming, but just because you have them now doesn’t mean that you should stop gaming! Who knows what you will learn and discover next?

 

 

by Brighton Dental San Diego

The gaming world has always traditionally been seen as a male world . . . although no one is really sure exactly why. If you think about it, some of the very first popular games that were created and released were quite gender neutral: Pac man may have been a man, but you could barely tell from the way that he looked, and Mario was not really a masculine orientated game either. But perhaps that is exactly the problem – although the games didn’t seem very male orientated, they only included male characters that the gamer could play as. The vast majority of the female roles were characters within the game, and they were there to be rescued.

Of course, there are those that would argue that many games have female characters, and the most famous of all of these is Lara Croft. Every single person who plays that game plays as Lara, and so that is why many people believe that women are actually quite well represented within the gaming world. On the other hand, you only have to take one quick look at Lara Croft to see that she was designed by a woman, and that reveals one of the other problems with the gaming world – that for a time, almost everyone that was making games was male.

In the modern day, however, gaming has become more inclusive of all genders and of all backgrounds. This means that whoever you are, whatever you enjoy should be represented within the gaming world. So whether you are a San Diego dentist (male or female) or a Seattle stay at home parent (male or female), there are games out there for you. Gaming for girls is starting to really become a part of normal life – and long may that last!