Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Charlene J. Nuble

==================
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms

- You have permission to publish this article electronically in
free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as
the bylines are included.

- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial
purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly
accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.

- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any
sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence,
porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.

- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited
Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in
an opt-in email list only.

- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we
ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that
contains the article to cjn@...

- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links
MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of
the URL where the article is posted to cjn@...

- We request that you ask permission from the author if you
want to publish this article in print.

The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as
part of its Article Distribution feature (
http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT
own this article, please respect the author's copyright and
this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of
these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
==================

Article Title: Knowing Tooth Decay And Its Modern Treatments
Author: Charlene J. Nuble
Word Count: 730
Article URL:
http://www.isnare.com/?id=5605&ca=Medicines+and+Remedies
Format: 64cpl
Author's Email Address: cjn@...

Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?id=5605

================== ARTICLE START ==================
"Tooth decay, also known as dental cavities, or dental caries,
is a disease that is five times more common than asthma and
seven times more common than hay fever." -- Michael C. Alfano,
Dean of the New York University College of Dentistry.

As warned by the World Health Organization, tooth decay is one
of the world's most prevalent health problems in industrialized
and especially in developing countries. An estimate of 90%
people in the United States has at least one cavity. Children
and senior citizens are the two groups of people at highest
risk.

In children, it usually happens when sugar-laden foods such as
candies are frequently left on the teeth. In the mouth, there
are bacteria that live in plaque (a sticky, whitish film
produced by our saliva) that convert the sugar into acids.
These acids eat away the tooth's protective coating also known
as the enamel. Excessive destruction of this outer surface of
the tooth results in tooth decay.

What makes adults also prone to being afflicted with tooth
decay is when aging causes gums to move back from the teeth.
Combined with gum disease, this gum recession exposes the tooth
root to plaque. This will cause the breakdown of the tooth root.
People who already have a number of dental restorations
(fillings and crowns) may also suffer from tooth decay,
especially around the teeth's edges, or margins.

The cost of spoiling your sweet tooth. Tooth decay,
particularly in the front teeth, may become an impediment
towards achieving a pleasing appearance, thus affecting
self-esteem. Cavities can also impact an individual's emotional
and social well being by causing pain and discomfort from
toothache. In addition to this, it can also cause some serious
health problem like malnutrition by interfering with an
individual's ability to eat certain foods. If tooth decay is
not treated early, complication from infection could cause
swelling of the face and neck, fever and blood poisoning.

Prevention is a lot less expensive AND less painful than
treatment. Although tooth decay remains as one of the most
common chronic disease, today many people are in better oral
health than before. The consolidated effort of dental
associations and many other health organizations in raising
oral health consciousness, the support of the government, and
cooperation from the public made this improvement attainable.
Several community-based programs aimed at solving oral health
dilemmas are carried out. These include extending fluoridated
water and schools having sealant projects for children.
However, these programs cannot reach many remote areas where
ethnic minorities are and where many people are living in
poverty. Their access to formal education and dental care is
very limited. This shows the need for more community-based
dental programs to help people take care of their teeth.

The American Association for Dental Research and International
Association for Dental Research have long been collaborating to
disseminate ways of preventing tooth decay. They educate people
of how proper oral hygiene methods of brushing twice a day with
fluoride toothpaste, regular dental checkup, sealant treatment,
flossing, eating nutritious meals, and limiting in-between
meals will always be indispensable.

Dental researchers have recently discovered how the bacteria
which attack teeth, stick themselves to the enamel. This new
information could bring significant benefits to increase the
public's knowledge on eliminating the harmful effects of the
tooth decay-causing bacteria (Streptococcus mutans). Aside from
this, they are also in the process of developing vaccines
against tooth decay and discovering other new methods on
targeting and killing the decay-causing bacteria.

Other tooth decay treatments, i.e., dental implants, Healozone
gas blast (blast that triggers the saliva to fix the teeth
naturally), and squirting genetically modified bacteria that
will not produce the decay acid, are also being developed. The
use of fiber optics and fluorescence methodologies is also
being considered to possibly detect tooth decay much sooner
than x-rays and visual inspections can.

These advancements in treating dental cavities are evidences of
the increasing attention to oral care. But relying mainly on
these discoveries does not guarantee the complete disappearance
of tooth decay from the list of the most common global health
problems. Further improvements on tooth decay treatment entails
expanded dental care education, early interception of poor oral
hygiene habits, greater parental involvement in children's
dental health and appreciating how priceless a confident smile
is.


About The Author: Charlene J. Nuble 2005. For up to date links
and information about dental care, please go to:
http://dental.besthealthlink.net/ or for updated links and
information on all health related topics, go to:
http://www.besthealthlink.net/
================== ARTICLE END ==================

For more free-reprint articles by Charlene J. Nuble please
visit:
http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Charlene+J.+Nuble