How to take care of your teeth during Christmas?

Some Christmas meals may badly affect our teeth and gums. Which foods should be avoided and how to take care of oral hygiene at the Christmas table?

Chipped dead teeth, falling out fillings and tooth pain are the most common dental problems with which  patients come to dentists in Poland after Christmas. There are also those rare patients who want to take care of the health and aesthetics of their teeth as one of the New Year's resolutions.

Christmas meals and teeth

Due to the frequent consumption of sweets during the holiday season, there is a greater risk of developing caries. In addition, teeth with cavities are hypersensitive to sweet and cold food. So do you have to give up sweets for the holiday time? Not necessarily! Sweets can be eaten, but make sure to choose those that do not stick to the teeth. The prolonged contact with sugar promotes tooth caries. It is better to eat a lot of sweets at a time and then brush your teeth, than to eat a piece from time to time.

Poppy and fishbones as the enemies of dentures 

All foods with poppy seeds are a problem for people who wear different types of removable dentures in Poland. Poppy gets between the prosthesis and the mucous membranes, which in turn leads to irritation of the oral mucosa. Bones from fish also can irritate the mucous membranes or stuck in a cavity in a tooth.

How to take care of your teeth when you cannot brush them?

If you do not have a the toothbrush at hand, rinse your mouth with water. This will remove about 80 percent of bacteria. An attempt to clean the teeth with a chewing gum (which is so recommended in TV commercials) often ends up with falling out of an old filling.

To make sure you will avoid any problems with teeth during Christmas, and you will cherish this unique atmosphere without any pain, visit your dentist and decide on dental treatment in Poland before Christmas.

All you need to know about snoring and apnea

Normal breathing involves a smooth flow of air through the throat and lungs. When you are awake, the muscles help to maintain the surrounding structures so that the air reaches the lungs and does not encounter any obstacles along the way. During sleep, the muscles are at rest but the airways in the throat should remain open to allow air supply to the lungs.

Snoring is a serious problem affecting 60% of men and 40% of women between 40 and 60 years of age. Medicine and dentistry abroad usually treat snoring as an inconvenience. Many relatives of such patients believe snoring is a serious social problem as it deteriorates the sleep of the relatives as well. In response, they have to prod their partners or sleep in separate bedrooms. Snoring can lead to a more serious condition called apnea. Snoring occurs when patient's tongue falls back and partially clogs the airways. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the tongue completely blocks the airways.

Apnea is the cessation of nasal breathing for ten seconds. Thirty or more episodes of apnea during 7-hours sleep at night is considered to be sleep apnea. People affected by the disease have hundreds of episodes of apnea during one night, each lasting from 10 to 200 seconds. This limits the amount of oxygen delivered to the body and brain and disrupts the normal sleep cycle. Daytime symptoms of sleep apnea range from a mild inability to concentrate for extreme sleepiness at the time of quiet sitting. These patients may fall asleep while watching TV, at work or even while driving! Severe cases of sleep apnea can be life threatening. It can cause hypertension, which can provoke a stroke or heart attack. Because sleep apnea is a medical disorder with serious health implications, all patients are advised to consult a doctor or specialist in sleep disorders before starting oral treatment apparatus.

Facts about snoring:

- One in eight people snore

- About 18 million people suffer from periodic apnea

- 28% of men over age 65 suffer from periodic apnea

- Up to 50% of patients suffering from periodic apnea have high blood pressure 

- In the case of patients with periodic apnea, the risk of heart attack and stroke increases 

- Almost 60% of the population suffers from sleepiness during the day, a side effect of periodic apnea 

- Snoring stops or decreases significantly in the case of patients wearing special apparatus in the mouth

- In the U.S., diseases that result from complications of sleep, cost the state 15.9 billion.

What can I do to have a good night's sleep?

- Every day, go to bed at the same time

- Avoid alcohol

- Exercise regularly to be under the control of your weight and blood pressure

- Avoid caffeine after 18:00

- Avoid large meals before bedtime

- Before going to bed, do some relaxation exercises

- Invest in a good mattress and pillow

- Keep the temperature in the room in a comfortable range

- Create a relaxing environment in the bedroom

How to reduce the risk of snoring?

- Train sleeping on your side

- Lose weight if you are overweight

- Use a decongestant

- Before going to bed, avoid alcohol and sleeping pills

All you need to know about Christmas gifts

Christimas is coming, which means that soon we will take up buying Christams gifts for our friends and family. Below you will find a few useful hints what to buy and what to avoid.

THE MOST POPULAR CHRISTMAS GITFS

1. Cosmetics and jewellery

2. CDs with music and tickets for a concert of a favourite band

3. Mp3 players, iPods etc.

4. Computer games

5. SPA, gym swimming pool pass

6. Electronic devices

7. Clothes

8. Photos of the giver and receiver of the gift (usually in a big size)

9. Pillows, cups etc. with a picture of the receiver (to be found online)

10. Home decorations

11. A very big Christams card

12. Calendar

13. A watch

14. Underwear and bedding

15. T-shirts with funny inscriptions or pictures

16. A wallet/ purse

17. Clothing accessories (bags, scarves etc.)

18. A cinema/theater/restaurant invitation

19. A pet (gold fish)

20. Tableware

21. Various kinds of tool kits

22. Elaborate alcohol

23. Shopping cupon

24. Hair devices like a curler

25. Basket of favourite sweets

THE WORST GIFTS EVER!

Below we present is a list of gifts that you should not give to anybody not to offend the receiver:

1. "Appearance improvers" 

When choosing gifts, try to avoid those that suggest any imperfections associated with the appearance of the receiver. Avoid slimming underwear, anti-wrinkle cream, electric depilator and hygiene items. 

2. Trinkets. 

Before you give a present, think about what the receiver can do with this item. Is it in any way useful, or the only function it plays is gathering dust. Gifts like a plaster statue, a picture of a sunset or a vase are not very useful.

3. Your own photo in a frame. 

It is certainly no a present in very good taste. It reveals your selfishness. It is much better to give a enlarged picture of your and the receiver, providing that your relation is intimate enough.

4.Very cheap/expensive gifts.

Quite an important aspect of the gift is its price. It should be middle worht. If you buy a too cheap gift, it may look trashy. On the other hand, offering a very expensive present, we can embarrass the person who receives it.

5. The same gift as last year.

Choosing the same gifts, may indicate a lack of imagination and commitment.

6. "For later" 

Avoid giving presents which can be used in the future. it is a complete nonsense to give a book to a child who can not read, or clothing that the kid will be able to wear in two years. It's better to focus more on the present.

7. Gifts from the ending date of usefulness/ expiry date

This is another gift which may hurt our relatives.

8. Money

Giving gifts is associated with devoting you time for the other person. Donating a gift of money, may indicate disregard and "going the easy way."

9. Your own gifts which you do not like

The peak of arrogance would be to give somebody a gift that you have received. Let's not make the holidays an opportunity to get rid of unnecessary items.

10. Second-hand clothing

This proposal is in the last place, because there isn't a worse idea for a gift than used clothes and especially underwear. This gift proves not only ignorance but also a lack of tact.

MEMORABLE GIFTS

Gifts in the form of vouchers will remain in memory for many years. They are interesting, original, unique and totally different from those that we give every day. However, when choosing a gift, it is worth considering whether the reveicer would want to use it. It may indeed prove that we buy Horse riding lessons for someone terrified of horses, or we spend money on climbing course for an uncle, who can not stand the physical strain.  So you have to think about it, and even gently ask your family who likes what. One thing is certain, active gifts are something completely new and different than traditional gifts. Now you can go crazy a little, and at the same time surprise your cousin, husband, children, or for example a friend. The choice is yours.