Three Oral Health Care Tips for Kids for Life

St. Christopher's Foundation for Children Ronald McDonald(R)Care Mobile Presents 'Three Oral Health Care Tips for Kids for 2010'

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- To kick-off the New Year in a healthy way, Judy Gelinas, director of the St. Christopher's Foundation for Children's Community Oral Health Initiative, recommends that local parents have their children adopt the following three practices in 2010 as part of every New Year's Resolution:

Give your teeth a thorough daily cleaning! Keep gums and teeth clean to avoid decay, gum disease and bad breath. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush, working in small "jiggles" that reach the gums. Don't skip your back teeth. Even the best brushers need to use floss to clean between the teeth, wiping sides and wiggling under the gum line.

Select tooth-friendly beverages! Sugary drinks (even 100-percent fruit juice) feed the germs that cause decay. Carbonated drinks are very acidic, even if they are sugar-free. Save juices for meal time and soda for a special treat. If you need to be sipping all day, do your teeth a favor: Drink water!
Visit your dentist! In these tough economic times, don't think you are saving by skipping your six-month check up at the dentist. Preventing oral hygiene problems will save money in the end.

"Seventy-three percent of our seven-year-old patients come to us with cavities," said Gelinas. "Following good practices will not only keep children's teeth healthy, but also save parents money!"

The goal of St. Christopher's Foundation for Children's Community Oral Health Initiative is to improve the oral health of the community surrounding St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, a federally designated dental health provider shortage area. The five programs within the initiative stress early intervention and prevention of oral disease. One of those programs, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, provides comprehensive, quality dental treatment to more than 2,500 children each year, at no cost to their family.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of the Philadelphia Region, Inc.

RMHC of the Philadelphia Region, Inc. grants hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to support non-profit programs that directly improve the health and well being of local children. The Charity also supports the Philadelphia, Southern New Jersey and Delaware Ronald McDonald Houses, in addition to the St. Christopher's Foundation for Children Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, and receives its support from McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's Owner/Operators, corporate donors and McDonald's customers.

For more information, visit www.rmhc.org.

Discover how I cured my nasty Bad Breath here.

Source PR Newswire

Copyright 2010

What's Going Around

Local doctors explain what they're seeing in their offices this week.

Bronchitis is making the rounds in Lansing this week. That's what Dr. Thomas Stout at Mt. Hope Community Medical Center is treating patients for.

Symptoms include a cough that is dry or hacking at first, a mild fever, fatigue, wheezing while breathing, and hoarseness.

You may also feel tightness, burning or dull pain in the chest under the breastbone, which is usually worse when taking a deep breath or coughing.

You can treat most cases of acute bronchitis at home.

Drink plenty of fluids, and take an over-the-counter cough medicine with an expectorant if your doctor recommends it.

You can suck on cough drops or hard candies to soothe a sore throat.

In Okemos, it's sinus infections that are keeping Dr. James Brouillette at Ingham Primary Care Center busy this week.

The main symptoms are runny or stuffy nose, and pain and pressure in the head and face.

Other symptoms include a front headache with pressure behind the eyes, bad breath, dental pain, and reduced sense of taste or smell.

To treat sinusitis, drink plenty of fluids and take over-the-counter pain relievers as needed.

It might help to put a hot damp towel on the face, for five to 10 minutes a few times a day.

Saltwater nose drops can help wash out mucus.

Now, fever can be a symptom of a sinus infection or just a cold.

If you're congested and have a low-grade fever, you probably have a cold, and don't need special medicine or antibiotics.

People with asthma who get a sinus infection may have a flare-up of symptoms, and should stick to their prescribed treatment regimen.

Discover how I cured my nasty Bad Breath here.

Source WILX-TV

Copyright 2010

Eight Reasons to Start Working Out

A few good motivators to shed that extra holiday weight you've packed on.

Overeating—and drinking—is an inevitable part of the last few months. Now, like most Americans, you've probably made a New Year's resolution to hit the gym a little harder. But since most resolutions are made to be broken, we've got a few extra motivators to help you get in gear. Print them out, hang them on your fridge and get going. Or else . . .

You'll Have Bad Breath
Researchers at Tel Aviv University recently found a direct link between obesity and bad breath—the more overweight you are, the more likely your breath will smell rank to those around you. The experts reported that there's no scientific evidence that would explain their results but suggested that obese people may have a diet that promotes dry mouth or that they're less likely to have proper oral hygiene.

You'll Snore
Sleep apnea, a disruption of breathing while asleep, is commonly accompanied by symptoms of extremely loud, irregular snoring. And obesity is the factor most likely to lead to sleep apnea (about 70 percent of people who have sleep apnea are overweight). But don't despair too much: A Temple University study found that obese sleep apnea patients who lost just 10 percent of their weight showed good improvements of their condition.

You'll Spend More Time in the Hospital
A study by sociologists at Purdue University found obesity leads to more frequent and longer hospital stays. On average, overweight patients stayed a day and a half longer than those with normal weight. The experts attributed the connection to more prominence of disease, like high blood pressure, which afflicts 46 percent of obese adults. Next time you're about to dig into a plate of chili cheese fries, ask yourself if they're worth losing 36 hours of your life.

Your Doctor Won't Like You
Doctors have less respect for their obese patients than they do for patients of normal weight, reports a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers. As patient's BMI went up, docs reported a corresponding lower respect for them. Who cares what your doctor thinks of you? Previous studies have shown that when physicians respect their patients, there's a better flow of information and patients are more likely to seek medical help in general.

You Could Die in a Car Accident
As body mass index goes up, seatbelt use goes down. So say researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. In a telephone survey they found that about 30 percent of overweight individuals did not use a seatbelt, compared to about 20 percent of the average population. And the seatbelt use continued to decline as BMI increased. The study concluded that obese people are more likely to be involved in fatal car accidents due to the fact that they're less likely to wear a seatbelt. So buckle up!

You'll Get Dumber
Young adults who are in shape have a higher IQ, reveals a new study carried out at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden. The study examined 1.2 million Swedish men doing military service who were born between 1950 and 1976 and analyzed the results of physical and IQ tests when the men enrolled. The results found a clear link between good physical fitness and better results for the IQ test. Researchers attributed the intelligence to the fact that the brain gets plenty of oxygen when people are more physically fit.

You'll Have a Stroke
Men who regularly engage in moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise such as jogging, tennis or swimming may be less likely to have a stroke than people who get no exercise or only light exercise, reports a recent study. The study's more active men were 63 percent less likely to have a stroke than those who did lighter activities like walking and golfing. Strokes, by the way, are the leading cause of disability and the third-leading cause of death in the United States.

You'll Go Broke
With the recent implementation of fat-taxes, sugary and fatty foods are starting to strain people's belts and wallets. Forty states now impose extra sales taxes (up to seven percent) on soft drinks and a few snack items; and the number of taxable items is only predicted to go up. Medically speaking, a 2006 study found that obese people spent 42 percent more than people of normal weight on medical costs (a difference of $1,429). Additionally, airlines have begun enforcing policies that passengers too large to fit in one seat must purchase a second—at standard price. Makes that $12 salad look more reasonable, huh?

Discover how I cured my nasty Bad Breath here.

Source Men's Fitness

Copyright 2010

Want to Beat Bad Breath (Halitosis) ?

If you want that hot chick to smile at you, make sure your breath is minty fresh. A survey conducted by the British Dental Association in England, revealed how bad breath was rated the most unattractive feature in a person, right after body odour. Halitosis or bad breath afflicts more than 90 million people worldwide, so, you aren't alone, my friend.

It's caused by bacteria from foods that group together, attaching themselves to your teeth, leading to plaque build-up. The millions of filaments on your tongue trap tiny food particles, which eventually ferment and emit odour. Interestingly, some of the common chemical compounds detected in bad breath include Hydrogen Sulphide(smells like rotten eggs), Cadaverine (smells like corpses) and Isovaleric Acid (smells like sweaty feet).

Research indicates that people recoil from it because the brain recognizes it as a potential source of infection and forces the body to move away from it.

Here are five simple steps to beat bad breath:

1 Stick to the routine: The combination of brushing-flossing-mouthwashing is deadly for bad breath. Merely brushing twice a day isn't enough since bacteria remains hidden in inaccessible areas between your teeth. Mouthwash works because it can reach hidden crannies that store food particles. Ideally, you should brush twice a day and use a mouthwash that provides 12-hour protection. Clean your tongue with your toothbrush and floss regularly.

2 chew that gum: Saliva is a potent weapon to fight bad breath. When you go to sleep or suffer from dry mouth, there is a slowdown in saliva production. So, food particles end up lingering on the tongue longer, emitting a foul odour. If you chew gum during the day, you stimulate saliva production and wash away the particles. Cinnamon-flavoured gum works best.

3 replenish your fluids: A drop in water levels creates a problem. Make sure you drink at least two litres of water daily.

4 avoid spicy pakodas: Avoid eating garlic and spicy snacks during lunch hour. These are absorbed into the body, and release bad odour through the lungs when you breathe. Cigarettes, coffee, onions, alcohol and foods rich in carbohydrates (rice, pasta and sugar) add to the problem. Eating a portion of parsely with your meals works wonders to fight bad breath.

5 take a trip to the loo: Regular bowel movement eliminates body waste from your gut, cutting down on bad breath. Eating fibre-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, beans, radish, okra and cucumber also helps tremendously.

Discover how I cured my nasty Bad Breath here.

Source MiDDay

Copyright 2010

Appeal to Smokers' Vanity

Dying from smoking cigarettes is one thing. Yellow teeth, wrinkles and bad breath (Halitosis) are something else altogether, according to one psychological study.

The study, recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, indicates that smokers, many of whom develop the habit because they want to boost their self image, are more likely to be deterred by warnings that smoking will make them unattractive than by warnings that it could lead to their deaths.

Further, the study suggests that the more dire death warnings might actually backfire. When confronted with those warnings, some people bolster their habit by developing coping mechanisms to justify continuing to smoke.

According to the Telegraph, a British newspaper that reported on the study, researchers in the United States, Switzerland and Germany, questioned 39 psychology students who said they were smokers.

The answer? Perhaps warnings on cigarette packs should say that smoking can kill you, and while emphasizing that being dead is not at all becoming.

Discover how I cured my nasty Bad Breath here.

Source The Post and Courier

Copyright 2010