More than 100 million Americans don’t have dental insurance, and according to a new study by the WK Kellogg Foundation, more than 4 in 10 households have at least one person who has delayed receiving dental care due to cost. With these statistics, it’s not hard to predict a wave of dental decay. Fortunately there are some bad habits you can eliminate to help protect your teeth, whether or not you have access to regular dental care.

Quit Smoking

It’s easy to say and hard to do, but if you’re one of the nearly 50 million American adults who smoke, dental damage provides yet another reason to consider putting the cigarettes down for good. Smoking can cause permanent discoloration of your teeth and can lead to gum disease. Aside from increasing the plaque and tartar buildup on your teeth, smoking can cause inflammation in your salivary glands, delayed healing, an increased risk of tooth loss and dental implant failure, and an increased risk of developing potentially precancerous conditions like leukoplakia and oral cancer.

By leaving the cigarettes behind, you’ll not only reduce your need to spend a lot of time with the dental assisting professionals at the dentist’s office, and improve the appearance of your teeth and gums, but you’ll also decrease your chances of developing other forms of cancer associated with smoking.

Avoid Illicit Drugs

Illicit drug use, especially methamphetamine, has given rise to a relatively new phenomenon known as “meth mouth.” Methamphetamine use is associated with rapid, significant tooth decay. Although the cause of this kind of dental decay is unclear, the American Dental Association says that the problem most likely stems from long periods of “dry mouth”, combined with poor oral hygiene, increased consumption of sugary foods and drinks, and increased grinding and clenching of the teeth, which damages tooth enamel. Contrary to popular belief, meth mouth isn’t caused by using poor-grade methamphetamine. Persons who abuse pharmaceutical-grade methamphetamine also suffer from meth mouth.

Saliva plays an important role in the long-term health of teeth and gums. Reduced salivation occurs when a person uses methamphetamine. This long-term drought causes gum tissues to shrink, which opens the door to some serious tooth decay, periodontal disease and oral infections. Despite the colloquial name of this condition, methamphetamine isn’t the only bad actor here. The same symptoms can occur with the abuse of other stimulants like cocaine, amphetamines and Ritalin (methylphenidate).

If you use methamphetamine, it’s important to get help as soon as possible. Medical intervention will include help managing the physical after-effects of methamphetamine abuse, including the dental damage that may have occurred. If you don’t use drugs but know someone who has experienced rapid tooth decay, it might be a sign that significant medical intervention is in order.

Grinding

Grinding your teeth, known as bruxism, is actually classified as a sleep disorder. Most humans grind their teeth at one time or another in their lifetimes, but the repeated grinding of the teeth and clenching of the jaws that characterize bruxism can cause significant damage to teeth over time. A number of different factors can cause people to grind their teeth, but most people who engage in this habit don’t even know they’re doing it. That’s because most of the heavy-duty damage to the teeth occurs during sleep – even during short naps!

Bruxism is habitual, and once the habit is formed, it’s very difficult to break. Stress is though to play a role in habitual grinding, as are allergic reactions, some medical conditions like Parkinson’s Disease, and chronic magnesium deficiency (a rare condition in the United States). High caffeine consumption, drinking, smoking, and drug use are also associated with bruxism.

Signs that you may be grinding your teeth include headaches, earaches, migraines, loose teeth, and jaw pain, and telltale damage to your teeth, which your dentist will discover during an oral examination. Treatments for bruxism may include the nightly use of a dental bite splint, biofeedback treatments, dietary changes, dietary supplements, electrical stimulation and botox injections. Damage caused by grinding can be repaired using caps, crowns or dental veneers, however veneers can be dislodged if the grinding persists.

It is amazing just how fast a trail of ants will appear in the kitchen. Yesterday they were all over the garbage. Not five minutes before my husband noticed them, there wasn’t a single ant in sight.

When I see ants in the kitchen, I avoid spraying poisonous ant spray. It stinks and potentially dangerous – or at least in mind it is. What if I don’t clean it up as well as I should and some lingers around? So I prefer to kill ants in the kitchen with a cleaner – usually Chlorox Clean-up – but really I have found any cleaner that has bleach will work.

I have noticed that some painted walls now are a lighter shade of the original color – I like to think of it as an easy faux finish. But at least the ants are gone, and I’m cleaning at the same time.

My husband sprayed the ants with Chlorox and that took care of them. I then wiped up the trail and so far, no more ants. I’m sure they will be back. Good thing I have plenty of Chlorox Clean-up.

My husband and I have both had a lot of dental work done in the past two years. I am ashamed to admit how many years I went without visiting the dentist. There was a lot of work to be done.

Now we are regularly going to the best dentist I have ever seen. He is also the least talkative dentist, too. Maybe that’s why I like him so much. He just gets the work done. Going to the dentist might be a frightening idea especially if it has been years since your last visit. All that worry will quickly go away once you get that first visit out of the way.

Make sure to properly care for your teeth in between routine trips to the dentist. Floss daily and brush at least twice a day. My niece brushes her teeth after every meal and has never had a cavity. I’m not that diligent but do try to brush before bed time and in the morning. Change your toothbrush every three months. We even change our toothbrushes if we have been sick. Get those germs out of the house. Not sure if it really helps but at least it makes us feel like we are doing all we can.

Devote at least two minutes to brushing your teeth. Some fancy toothbrushes are programmed to let you know when to stop brushing. You could also sing a song, listen to the radio, or buy an egg timer.

Even if it has been a while, get to the dentist and take care of your teeth. You will feel so much better. I know we did.

While thumbing through the August 2011 Rachel Ray Magazine, I came across an article that grabbed my attention. The article listed ten uses of beer – and not one of them was to drink or to cook.

I love finding home remedies and uses for products that are not their intended purpose. I do plan to try all of these out and report my findings. First I must buy beer and decide where to start.

The one that most interests me right now is the claim that washing your pillow cases with water-downed beer will help you get a better night’s sleep. This is very important to us – especially with school right around the corner. We need to get our daughter in bed earlier and she needs to get a good night’s sleep. When I told my husband this claim, we joked that maybe the smell of beer makes you remember all the times your drank too much and slept it off soundly.

The beer has to be a hops variety – whatever that means. I am beer illerate. I will have to read up on hops beer. This weekend will test out the pillow case claim and see if that makes any difference in our sleep.

It seems all of our friends are moving this summer. Some friends bought a house while others are relocating for new jobs. I do not envy them as I loathe moving. In fact, I’ve told my husband that the next time we move, we should just start with a clean slate and leave everything behind.

HGTV’s Lisa Laporta offers moving tips for those unfortunate folks who are planning a move. There are so many things to take into account when moving. The packing may be the most laborious part. There are a million little details that must be done when moving into a new place. Lisa will help sort out all those tiny details. She also gives tips that will help you keep on task to take care of all of those little details. Lisa also has advice on how to incorporate all the latest home entertainment technology into your new home.

CableMover

Our friends started packing this week for their move in two weeks. They have already filled about 20 boxes. You can never have too many boxes when moving. A small amount of stuff will take up four or five boxes. When we have moved, packing always takes way too long and way too many boxes. They are also moving during one of the hottest months of the year. I do not envy them. They have asked for help from their friends, and to make it worth their while are throwing in a free meal and drinks. That’s the real key to getting help when you move: offer your friends something free like a meal.

I will have to pass along these tips from Lisa Laporta. Maybe her advice will make their move a little easier.

As I’m sure many of you readers can relate, I have relatives who smoke who I wish would quit. Some have tried and even had stopped smoking for years only to pick up the habit again. They smoke to relieve stress, boredom, anxiety, etc. It is a coping mechanism. I have mine, so I can completely understand why they smoke and why it is so hard to kick a bad habit.

I have thought about buying nicotine gum as gifts for my family members that are smokers. I definitely would like to give them a tool that would help them quit. Lately I’ve been hearing more about electronic cigarettes. I may have to do some cigarette comparisons to learn more about them. This does sound like a pretty interesting way to quit smoking. The smoker still has their ‘cigarette’ but without the deadly side effects of a real one. There are many options to e-cigarettes, so a smoker who is used to a certain type like menthol can have an electronic equivalent.

The parts of an electronic cigarette include an atomizer and a cartridge. The atomizer is the heating element of an electronic cigarette. The cartridge is the mouthpiece that holds propylene glycol, flavoring additives, and optional nicotine. You buy cartridges as needed. E-cigarettes have a rechargeable battery. You can even buy a car charger for it.

There is a lot to consider when buying an electronic cigarette. The first step is to find out if my relatives would actually use a product like this. I know they want to quit, so here’s hoping they are willing to try this method.

There are many advantages to living close to your parents. One disadvantage is little to no barriers. My Dad will pick up our mail on occasion. He has mostly stopped because my Mom told him to, but yesterday he picked it up since it rained. Rain and our mailbox do not make for a dry combination.

As I’m leaving from picking up my daughter, my Dad tells me that my mail is on the counter. I had glanced at it and noticed it was all junk mail. My Mom then offered to file it – aka throw it away. That is mostly what we have in our mailbox everyday and is the main reason why I don’t mind if my Dad picks up our mail. I should implement a rule that if you take the mail out, then you have to take care of it. Maybe I could con him into paying a few bills since he did remove them from the mailbox. My favorite junk mail is the cable offer from the company that doesn’t provide service at my house. There’s marketing research at its finest.

I would really like to stop junk mail completely. Companies are wasting their time and money sending me unsolicited mail. I’m not reading it nor will I even open it. Getting off of their mailing list is the best way to stop junk mail. Catalog Choice offers a free service that helps you get off those mailing lists.

If I had less junk mail, then I would have less clutter. There is more than one reason to opt-out. I love the idea of anything that simplifies my housework.

Life can become stressful when you combine looking after kids, a house, pets and all the little things that inevitably fall at your feet. Week after week this tension builds and you can end up
becoming quite stressed. Thankfully, there is a sure-fire cure for this: the spa. Pamper weekends at a gorgeous retreat will evaporate all your cares with a parade of facials, massages and steam baths.

Pamper weekends are an amazing invention: basically, a group of ladies head off to a spa for two full days – during this time their every need is met, and they can relax in the evening at a sumptuous
hotel with a nice bottle of wine. Of course, you can’t do this every weekend, but a few times a year it’s good to get away with the girls and really spoil yourself.

If you go on a pamper weekend twice a year, that is still probably not enough – you don’t want to let your stress pile up for six straight months! So, arrange to go on shorter, yet still relaxing spa days. You can arrange to have a massage, a pedicure, a manicure and a steam bath all in one day – this will leave you feeling refreshed and tide
you over until your next pamper weekend.

It is a hard task looking after so many people, and it’s important to take some time and put yourself first for a change – this can be hard to do, but it is crucial to carve this space out for yourself. The spa
is the perfect place for this as it will take you far away, let you turn off your cell phone and fall into a truly relaxing experience.

Last night my daughter had something sticky in her hair. It quickly grew into a massive knot. We tried washing it out but to no avail. I used some peanut butter and got a little of her hair free. With her hatred of having her hair comb and the time it would have taken to get out the knot, we decided to cut her hair. She hates getting her hair cut and misses her long hair.

Her hair cut is cute. It’s shorter in the back and longer in the front. It made me want to get my hair cut. I enjoy cutting my hair although the idea makes my husband cringe. But I’ve decided that he insists on growing that thing on his face (goatee) then I’m going to cut my own hair.

I washed is this morning and took the scissors to it. I read a couple of good tips on cutting your own hair that made a big difference in quality. Next time I wash my hair I think I will cut it shorter. I’m really want a short hair do but want to gradually get used to having shorter hair.

Today I helped my sister-in-law at her farm. They have several goats that have given birth within the past week. Sadly one nanny died – leaving behind two orphaned goats. Two goats had twins. Today she had to find the two that didn’t have a mama so that she could take them home to feed them.

By process of elimination, we found the two. Apparently goats will not let other kids nurse. They will head butt them. We took them back to her house where she prepared them a bottle using these gigantic baby animal bottles. We tried feeding the kids and were not very successful with these huge bottles. My sister-in-law decided to try a Dr. Brown bottle instead. I think the smaller nipple and the ease of the milk coming out made the difference. The kids drank a little over an ounce each. They seemed to be tired of eating after that.

So the animal bottle might be better when they are a little older or when they are use to drinking from a bottle. Right now the Dr. Brown bottles are working well. So, save a couple of baby bottles. You never know when you might need them.