Never Ignore Your Doctor's Advice About Your Blood Pressure

I have always been in pretty good health, so I was surprised one day when my doctor told me my blood pressure was a bit high. She told me to begin watching my salt intake, start exercising, and to try to relax. Well, I intended to follow her advice when I left her office, but the next day I was back to my same habits. I kept using the salt shaker and didn't begin an exercise routine like I had planned. When I went for my next check-up, she told me that my blood pressure was even higher and approaching a dangerous level. I had to begin a blood pressure medication to manage it. I wanted to create a blog to share my story and remind people to listen to their doctors' advice. If a few lifestyle changes can improve your health, then you should make them.

4 Natural Solutions To Improve Your Tobacco-Stained Smile This Holiday Season

Dentist Articles

Christmas parties, holiday events at the office, and gatherings with friends and family will most likely be on your calendar this season, so ensuring your smile looks the best is smart. Unfortunately, the use of tobacco products can wreak havoc on the look and underlying health of not only your health, but your mouth, teeth, and gums. If you are part of the 40 million adults in the United States who smoke cigarettes, you may already understand the effects this habit has on your oral health. While breaking the habit is your best option, improving the color of your smile for the holiday season is possible. Using this guide, you can whiten and brighten your smile using natural solutions.

Baking Soda Scrub

Visit your local discount retailer or grocery store and you will find a large selection of toothpastes that contain baking soda. While effective for basic brushing, these toothpastes are not usually strong enough to remove tooth discoloration from smoking cigarettes. Fortunately, you can make your own whitening paste using baking soda at home.

Rinse your toothbrush under the sink faucet. Then, sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda directly onto the brush bristles. Begin brushing your teeth using the dampened, baking soda covered toothbrush. Scrub your teeth using circular motions, ensuring you brush for approximately 2 minutes. Rinse out your mouth using lukewarm water.

Baking soda absorbs food particles and residue from the surface of teeth, reducing discoloration from your tobacco use.

Hydrogen Peroxide Rinse

After brushing, consider rinsing with a common household ingredient. Hydrogen peroxide works as a bleaching agent, but does not pose any serious health risks.

In a glass, combine 1 teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide with 2 tablespoons of water. Mix with a spoon to dilute the hydrogen peroxide in the water.

Pour the solution into your mouth and swish around for a few minutes. After the time, spit into the sink and rinse your mouth with warm water. Brush your teeth to remove the taste from your mouth.

Coconut Oil Pull

While surprising to hear, swishing coconut oil around in your mouth can also remove heavy stains from your teeth and toxins from your body. Used first as an Ayurvedic practice to treat a variety of medical conditions, oil pulling is growing in popularity today.

Complete the following steps every morning and night to detoxify your body and remove heavy residue and stains from your smile:

  1. Place 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth.
  2. Swish the oil around in your mouth, for 20 minutes. Use swishing motions that will "pull" food, bacteria, and residue stains from your teeth.
  3. After the time, spit the oil into a waste basket, since the oil will clog up your sink or toilet drains.
  4. Rinse your mouth out with lukewarm water.
  5. Brush your teeth, as normal, or use the baking soda paste to whiten and brighten your teeth more.

If you do not prefer the taste or texture of coconut oil, use olive or sesame oil instead. Coconut, olive, and sesame oil all offer the same benefits when used for oil pulling.

Strawberry Paste

Strawberries are not only delicious, but they also contain high levels of malic acid, which removes toxins from your mouth while ridding your teeth from tobacco stains.

To create a strawberry paste that will whiten and brighten your teeth, clean a few cups of these juicy, red berries. Be sure to remove the leaves and pits from each berry. Place the berries in a bowl and crush them with your fork or a mashing tool.

Apply the strawberry paste directly to the surface of your teeth, allowing it to remain in place for 10 minutes. After the time, rinse your mouth with lukewarm water and brush as normal.

Removing tobacco stains may be difficult, but it is possible. Using these natural options, you can clean, whiten, and brighten your tobacco-stained teeth before attending parties this holiday season. If you need a top-notch whitening job and can't afford to wait, a company like Bristol Dental Group can offer professional in-office whitening.

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17 December 2015