Author Archives: phebe

What can I do if I have bleeding gums?

What to do if I have bleeding gums

  1. Control the bleeding by applying pressure directly on the gums with a gauze pad, soaked in ice water. Avoid using gum gels to relieve pain and arrest bleeding. It only offers temporary relief and the disease thus advances further, causing more pain and complications.
  2. If the bleeding is due to local irritants, a professional scaling may be necessary to halt the bleeding.
  3. Maintain good oral hygiene, both of your teeth and soft tissues in the mouth Continue reading

About ulcers of the mouth-part 2

In the previous article “about ulcers of the mouth Part 1“, we have already discussed what is an ulcer, the causes and methods to identify the cause of an oral ulcer. In this next section we will be looking at the modailities used to treat ulcers of the mouth.

Treatments and home remedies for mouth ulcers

Treatment:

  • Based on and targeted at the etiology
  • Main goal of therapy: Relief of pain and reduction of ulcer duration. There are evidence that shows the most efficacy from corticosteroids and antimicrobials used topically.

1. Topical corticosteroids: Continue reading

About ulcers of the mouth-Part 1

What is an oral ulcer?

An ulcer in the mouth

An oral ulcer, or an ulcer in the mouth, is a painful lesion as a result of a complete break in the epithelium of mucous membrane. The body responds to this localized defect by producing fibrins, which fills and overflows in the ‘crater’ formed by the break in mucous membrane, giving it a bubble-like protrusion from the rest of the mucosa. The presence of fibrin gives it the yellowish colour which could easily be mistaken as pus. Continue reading

Causes of ulcers in the mouth

What are the causes of ulcers in the mouth?

oral ulcer

1. Trauma

i) Mechanical trauma

Accidentally biting your lips or cheeks or brushing your teeth too vigorously to the point of accidentally hitting your gums with the head of your toothbrush can lead to oral ulcers; some people are prone to biting himself because of the presence of a sharp tooth in the mouth. Continue reading

White patches in the mouth-Part II

Why should I be concerned?

White patches could be due to a multiple of causes as discussed in the article “white patches in the mouth”. It is important that the underlying cause is identified because of the following reasons:

i) can cause unwanted effectssuch as pain and discomfort and even altered taste sensation. by knowing the cause, the lesion can be treated accordingly and thus ease the patient of all these negative effects.

White patches on the tongue

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White patches in the mouth

The normal color of soft tissues in your mouth are usually red,  with occasional blackish-brownish pigmentation. The difference in color from the rest of your body is due to absence of keratin over the “skin” of your mouth, as evident all over your body. The red color is formed by the blood vessels beneath the thin layer covering in your mouth.

If you find a white patch anywhere in your mouth, it could be a number of conditions or due to a number of reasons as follows: Continue reading

Causes of gum bleeding

Causes of gum bleeding

1.      Gum diseases

A. Gingivitis.

Gingivitis comes from the word “gingiva” which means gums and “-itis” which means inflammation, hence gingivitis means inflammation of the gums. Poor tooth brushing technique or the lack of it leads to accumulation of plaque around the teeth, and eventually leads to gum diseases such as gingivitis. You should suspect gingivitis when you have other symptoms such as :

i)       altered appearance of your gums (deep red in colour, soft and swollen appearance, loss of a scalloped and knife-edge shape)

ii)     discomfort and pain

iii)    unpleasant taste

iv)    bad breath or halitosis Continue reading

About Oral Thrush

What is oral thrush?

Oral thrush

Oral thrush

Oral thrush, otherwise known as acute pseudomembranous candidioasis, is the infection of mucosal tissues of the mouth by a fungus, mainly candida albicans, but it can also be caused by candida glabrata or candida tropicalis. Candida albican is one of many microorganisms that exists in your mouth, but under certain circumstance they multiply uncontrollably and become an infection. The areas involved are usually the inner sides of the cheek, the tongue, tonsils, palate and floor of the mouth. They vary in size from small drop-like areas to confluent large patches covering a wide area. Continue reading

Bulimia and teeth

What is Bulimia Nervosa?

Bulimia, also called bulimia nervosa, is an eating disorder that involves binging and purging. Binge-eating is when a person eats an abnormally huge amount of food in a short period of time. The food is usually consumed not in response to hunger, but to depression, stress or self-esteem issues. In fact, a person may experience loss of control and continue binging even on a full stomach. This is then followed by purging, which are efforts to lose weight such as self-induced vomiting, long hours of excessive exercise, taking laxatives and diuretics. The most common method is self-induced vomiting, which is done by sticking a finger down the throat following an episode of over-eating so that food is vomited out before it is absorbed by the body.

Binge-eating

 

What are the signs of a bulimic person?

It is hard to identify a bulimic person because unlike people with aneroxia, bulimics appear normal, and can even be overweight. Furthermore, they tend to perform their acts of binging and purging behind closed doors, like hiding food in their drawers, or going into the kitchen after everyone has slept.

 

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Habits that are harmful to teeth

1. Bruxism/clenching

Bruxism can be defined as the habitual grinding of teeth when a person is not swallowing or chewing, whether consciously or subconsciously. It usually occurs during sleep at night and is not detected by the person himself, but by the person sleeping next to the person. It is believed to be invoked by stress. Teeth clenching is more common during the day, and is associated with nervousness, stress, or a heightened state of emotion. These habits apply a heavy load onto the teeth over a long period of time causing the teeth to slowly wear down, decrease in height (attrition), and eventually exposing the dentine. Also, these habits have a heavy toll on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), or the jaw joint, leading to temporomandibular disorders or pain.

Attrition

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