Next to obesity, dental care for kids is probably on the top priority list of parents. And why not? After all, in America alone, at least a quarter of kids aged between 2-5 years and half of those aged between 12-15 years suffer from tooth problems. Tooth decay is one of the major diseases in the US. So how do you make sure that your kids don’t suffer from this problem? Read on to find out the answer.

1. A stitch in time saves nine: For the first few days immediately after your baby is born, make sure you wash the mouth of your baby regularly. Use a wet washcloth to clean your baby’s gums after every meal. When it is time for the baby’s teeth to erupt, use a little fluoridated toothpaste and a soft brush to brush the teeth of your baby gently.

Teaching your kids the value of maintaining good oral health is the key. Make sure that they brush their teeth regularly twice a day, once in the morning and again at evening or night. As a parent, insist that your kids follow good oral hygiene rules. Taking these steps will make sure that your kids don’t suffer from diseases such as gingivitis or cavities later in life.

2. Involve your kids in an oral healthcare program at a very early age: Involving your kids with a pediatric dentist at an early stage will make sure that your kids take good care of their teeth. Starting from your kid’s first birthday, you should schedule a regular oral health appointment with the dentist.

3. Teach your kids proper brushing techniques: Tell your kids that it is essential that they regularly spit out the toothpaste after the brushing is over. If they are too young to spit the toothpaste on their own, they should use a non-fluoridated toothpaste until they are old enough to spit out the toothpaste all by themselves. In fact, as soon as your kid is two or three years old, you should start teaching them proper brushing techniques. Until they reach the age of eight or nine, you should also teach them how to floss gently. As your kids become older, they will be able to do it all by themselves.

4. Teach your kids how to eat properly: Teaching your kids good eating habits and advising them to avoid eating junk foods such as chocolates and candies will go a long way in keeping their teeth in good health.

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Tags: America, dentist, Gingivitis, obesity, oral healthcare program, pediatric dentist, United States

Natural bad breath remedies mostly depend on identifying and treating the cause of the bad breath. Of course you can simply spray your mouth with peppermint at regular intervals through the day but this does not get rid of the problem, it only covers it up.

Bad breath or halitosis has two main causes: a problem in the mouth, or a problem in the digestive system.

Treating Bad Breath In The Mouth

Gum infections, trapped stale food, abscesses and problems with the teeth can all cause bad breath. Do not be ashamed to discuss this with your dentist, who may be able to help you identify the cause and treat the issue.

Brush your teeth and gums frequently and thoroughly. Brush your tongue at the same time. Some toothbrushes have a rough surface for brushing the tongue or you can buy a special implement for this purpose. Be sure to floss your teeth too.

Increasing the proportion of fruit and vegetables in your diet and reducing consumption of meat and dairy products will help to make your mouth an alkaline environment where canker sores and gum infections are less likely to flourish.

Parsley can help to neutralize the mouth and get rid of bad breath. You can either chew parsley leaves or make tea from fresh parsley, allow it to cool and then use it as a mouthwash every few hours.

Fenugreek is another good herbal bad breath remedy. Make tea by steeping the seeds in water, strain and use as a mouthwash or drink to improve the digestion.

Bad Breath Remedies For Digestive Problems

Bad breath is often caused by problems in the digestive system, especially the stomach. If you have a recognized digestive condition such as acid reflux, stomach ulcer or other stomach disease or disorder you should discuss this with your doctor. Your condition (or the treatment for it) may be contributing to your halitosis.

If you are not sick then consider making a few changes to your diet to help your digestion improve. Again it will be helpful to eat more fruit and vegetables. Avoiding certain combinations of foods is also important.

Fruit is very fast digesting and should be eaten alone or at the start of a meal so that it can pass through the system quickly. Do not mix it with fatty foods such as cream or pastry. If fruit is eaten with or after proteins and fats its process through the stomach will be delayed. It may begin to ferment or rot in the stomach, causing a bad smell. So eat plenty of fruit as a first course or a snack but never at the end of a meal.

Meat is difficult to digest and can provoke problems if your digestive system is weak or slow. It takes a long time to pass through the system and may begin to putrefy. Reduce the quantities of meat that you eat and wait at least 4 hours after eating a meat based meal before you eat anything else.

Avocado is believed to have amazing properties for the digestion and is one of the best bad breath remedies, cleaning out and neutralizing any poorly digested food.

Tags: abscesses, canker sores, dairy products, dentist, digested food, Gum infections, stale food, stomach disease, stomach ulcer

On the weekend I had a chance to see Michael Moores movie Sicko. Sicko as everyone no knows is a documentary that looks at some people that are on underinsured health plans and compares them to regular folk in other countries. I am a Canadian so I can answer a little to the Canadian experience but of course I do not know much about the other countries that Michael Moore went to.

First of all in Canada it is important to know that the federal government sets up rules as to what kind of care needs to be accessible to everyone in the country, this is known as the Canada Health Act. Care is not actually delivered by the federal government but instead is delivered by provincial governments across the country. This is where the fighting goes on with the provinces saying that the federal government does not give enough money and the Federal government mandating services that the provinces must provide. The system is huge and although there is a level of bureaucracy, I have always heard that the amount is very small on a per capita basis compared to the US, also of course the system is not for profit since it is run by the two levels of government…I am sure though that some money filters out through slippery hands though.

Anyway that is how Canada funds our socialized health care system, how about the care itself? In Canada you can choose your doctor and my family doctor will get me in on the same day if I have a real problem or a few days later if I just have some aches and pains I want to talk with him about. If there is a real emergency there are many walk in clinics around the city that I can go to instead of my family doctor where the wait would be 30 minutes to an hour. For real emergencies like stitches or broken bones you need to go to a hospital and the wait times in the emergency room of the hospital can be bad with people waiting up to 12hours for treatment. This is a horrible reality across Canada with levels of government working to address the problem. The other problem is with MRI or other specialized treatment which can have long wait times as well of up to a few months. Almost no one dies to my knowledge from waiting for treatment but it is bad in some cases having to wait a long time for surgery or for testing.

Cost is one issue that is always swept under the rug for Canadian health care. Even though the standard of care in universal, almost all provinces have no monthly premiums for health care except unbelievably Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, these are the three richest provinces in Canada and are also the only places where people pay a monthly health care premium. The premiums are about $20-$55 per person per month.

The Canada Health Act and the provinces do not cover prescriptions, eyeglasses or dental care but most everything else is covered including childbirth and even vasectomies as well as other day surgeries.

In talking to most Canadians you will find that most people are in favor of the system that we have. People always want to see better service but that of course would cost more money. The way that we in Canada really see the difference between our system and the American system is really seen when you go to the dentist. It costs a fortune to get a filling but if you get hit by a car and need surgery you pay nothing. So after watching Sicko I must say that Michael Moore may have exaggerated a little on the speed of service and coverage that Canadians get for health care but it was pretty well on the mark. I would love to see how the Brits, Cubans and the French feel about the way that their health care systems were profiled.

Tags: aches, Alberta, British Columbia, Canada, day surgeries, dentist, federal government, health care systems, Michael Moore, Michael Moores, MRI, Ontario, Sicko, surgery, the Brits, United States, USD, vasectomies