Health

There are two main ways to effectively get your teeth whiter: a bleaching session (usually one is sufficient) at the dentist's office, or several at-home, dentist-supervised bleaching sessions. Other less effective options include over-the-counter (OTC) whitening toothpastes, strips, polishes, gels, or pens.

Consider tooth whitening if your choppers have become stained and discolored from smoking and tobacco use, years of drinking coffees and colas, or have yellowed due to aging. Tooth whitening results vary depending on the severity of the staining, age and even heredity. Some stains resist whitening, particularly stains due to trauma, exposure to tetracycline antibiotics while your adult teeth were forming, or overexposure to fluoride.

In-office bleaching sessions typically take 2 hours. The dentist will protect your gums with gauze, insert a cheek retractor to keep your mouth open, and cover your gums with a protective gel and possibly a desensitizer. The whitening agent (usually a 15 to 30 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide) is applied to your teeth, and an intense light is focused on your mouth for about 30 minutes. The peroxide solution will likely be removed and reapplied for another 30 minutes. At the end, your teeth should be 2-3 shades whiter, possibly more. They will also be fairly sensitive for the next 24 hours.

For at-home procedures, your dentist will customize a mouth tray, and send you home with mild peroxide solution. Typically, the mouth trays are worn from two to four hours or overnight for up to two weeks. Sporadic touch-up treatments are often recommended with both types of bleaching sessions.

Treatment cost vary,  but in-office teeth whitening typically costs about $650 to $700, while at-home treatments can run your approximately $400. It pays to ask your dentist if she offers discounts to established patients, or to call around – like me, you might catch a sale.

 

Cold season is upon us, and if you're looking for an alternative to over-the-counter cold medicines, then try these natural remedies. While not proven to prevent colds, these preparation can relieve some of the misery of cold and fever symptoms:

• Hit the vitamin C hard – Taking 600 – 1000 mg at the onset of symptoms may curb your cold by several days. Throw in a beta carotene supplement, too. This precursor to vitamin A helps heal infected and inflamed mucus membranes. Take both with food to avoid stomach upset.
• Load up on zinc – This infection-fighting mineral can cut a cold's duration by up to 4 days. Start by taking a zinc gluconate lozenge every 3-4 hours.
• Nasal washing – Fill a neti pot with a saline solution, or use a prepared nasal rinse spray. Spray, or pour, the solution into each nostril and let it flow out of the other. This simple move helps clear nasal passages, and curtail the cold virus.
• Hydrate – A nice warm (not hot) bath or shower will add much-needed moisture to the largest organ of your body – your skin. It will also stimulate your blood and lymph circulation, jump-starting the elimination of toxins. A humidifier is another smart move. Whether it uses cold or warm air, it makes sleeping easier. Change the water daily and clean it frequently.
• Have some tea – Add echinacea, goldenseal, slippery elm, or black elder teas to your cold care arsenal. Echinacea has antiviral benefits and boosts immunity; goldenseal has antibacterial properties; slippery elm (licorice root and marshmallow root will also work) soothes and coats the throat, reducing inflammation (try Thayers Slippery Elm lozenges); and black elder tea, while primarily antiviral may have antibacterial properties, too. Not a fan of tea? Many of these herbs can be found at health food stores as tinctures which can be mixed with water or juice.

 

Is posture really important, and how can you improve your posture?Practicing proper body mechanics, or good posture, is as essential to good health as eating right and exercise. The benefits of good posture include the correct weight distribution, as well as the proper alignment of bones and joints so they can work and move appropriately which minimizes added stress and strain on your back. Improper posture, such as slouching, sitting on a wallet in a back pant's pocket, sitting slumped forward, and carrying a heavy purse or backpack all put extra pressure on your spine, which may eventually cause back pain and injury. Need more encouragement? Good posture makes you look taller, slimmer and more confident.

The symptoms of food poisioning can catch you by surprise; and in this holiday season, how do you tell if it's just overeating, a minor stomach bug, or something more serious? The winter holidays are a great time for catching up with friends and family and eating large meals with lavish desserts while wearing bulky sweaters so no one can  see if you've indulged just a little too much. However, sometimes a stomachache and fatigue after a big meal may be the first indications of something more serious, like food poisoning.

Unless you typically follow press announcements of the Food and Drug Admininstrtion (FDA) you may have missed a recent statement by the agency warning of accidental overuse of the drug, acetaminophne.Too much acetaminophen can cause serious liver damage and even death. According to the FDA, acetaminophen was the leading cause of acute liver failure from 1998-2003, and 48% of these cases were accidental.