Oral health has always been considered vital when we talk about overall health and wellness. Poor dental hygiene often leads to gum disease and oral cavities. This has been associated with severe illnesses like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Keeping your oral health in shape is never easy and needs a lifelong commitment. Dental experts recommend that learning the right dental habits like flossing, brushing, and being conscious of your sugar intake should start early. It will be easier to avoid those costly dental visits and those lifelong Oral Health issues if we take care of our dental health more than before.
Oral Health and Dental Facts
Gum diseases and tooth cavities are prevalent. Here are some data resources, according to WHO:
- 60% to 90% of children have dental cavities
- Around 15% to 20% of middle-aged adults ranging from 35 to 45 have been diagnosed with severe gum problems.
- Almost every adult has a dental cavity.
- In most countries, the ratio of 1 to 100,000 is those people who have oral cancer.
- Around 30% of seniors worldwide aging 65-75 don’t have any natural teeth anymore.
- Most oral diseases are higher in those sectors that belong to disadvantaged or poor population groups.
In this article, experts from Birmingham family dental services will help you learn how to take care of your oral health effectively. Below are some steps on how to prevent dental and oral diseases:
- Twice a day, brushing with fluoride toothpaste.
- Managing or totally decreasing your sugar consumption.
- Using dental floss every after a meal or at least once daily.
- High fiber diet and increased fruit and vegetable intake.
- Avoid smoking cigarettes or any tobacco product.
- A regular visit to your family dentist.
Brushing Your Teeth for Oral Health
Everyday brushing is not just a way of keeping your mouth feeling clean and fresh, but it also impacts keeping your whole body healthy. Both the American Dental Association and WHO recommend that we brush our teeth twice daily for not less than 2 minutes every time.
We also need to know that there is a correct way of brushing our teeth. Proper tooth brushing helps eliminate plaque buildup on our teeth and bacteria in our gums and tongue. Brushing daily also prevents gum disease and tooth decay. Remember, excellent oral health promotes a healthier lifestyle and a robust immune system.
Tooth brushing is simple; the recommended process should be about 2 minutes. All you need is a bristled toothbrush, clean water, and fluoride toothpaste. Make sure that your toothbrush has been lubricated and put a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on the brush. Then, insert your brush to your mouth at a recommended 45-degree angle.
Make sure it reaches your gums, too, and create short strokes of brushing on your mouth. Pay attention to your teeth outside surfaces and include the back molars. Remember to include teeth on those upper surfaces that we use for chewing. Don’t forget to brush your tongue and gums to get rid of any bacteria buildup. Lastly, spit the saliva, remaining toothpaste, and water into the sink and finally rinse your mouth with cold water.
Decrease of Sugar Intake
Our mouth has thousands of tiny bacterias inside. Though most of those bacteria are helpful since they play an essential role in our oral ecosystem, harmful bacterias still exist. These harmful bacteria are so in love with sweets, and every time they feed on sugar, it creates those acids that destroy our tooth enamel. Thus, plaque and cavities build up on our teeth. The acids those harmful bacterias produce not only go through our teeth enamel but most of the time, they go deep into our teeth. That’s the time we feel those excruciating toothaches.
By decreasing our sugar intake, we can stop this acid buildup and process. We can avoid cavities, and we get to keep that enamel that’s protecting our teeth for as long as possible.
The Benefits of Flossing Your Teeth
Flossing daily and regularly is essential in removing plaque, preventing buildup, and tartar. Flossing helps remove trapped food particles that you might not immediately notice and those in areas where toothbrushes would not usually reach. Think of it this way, see how a carpet gets cleaned? It needs a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust and dirt that we cannot normally see. After those dust and dirt are removed, it immediately looks brighter. Just like our teeth after flossing, it makes them look brighter by getting rid of those excess food particles and plaque.
Every day flossing is critical to maintaining good oral health. In fact, there is a considerable amount of evidence that links mouth infections, as any other conditions can contribute to the increase of inflammatory substance levels in the blood. This usually leads to blood clots that slow the blood flow that goes to the heart, which is associated with several heart problems.
Feeding Your Teeth and Gums with Fruits and Vegetables
We all know that fruits and vegetables are good for our body, and guess what? They are great for our mouths as well. Fibrous fruits like pineapples do an excellent job in helping our teeth clean. Vitamins and minerals from some fruits, just like bananas, can help with our teeth’s natural enamel production. The Vitamin A in many vegetables are effective in healing mouth sores, and those leafy greens are an excellent source of calcium. Not only that, those rich Vitamin C citruses not only boost our immune system but also keeps our gum healthy.
It’s essential to keep up your dental and overall Oral Health, especially when you are in orthodontic treatment. Making sure that you are getting the right amount of nutrients from fruits and vegetables can surely help.
If you Love your Teeth, Avoid Smoking at All Costs for Oral Health
Smoking cigarettes or any tobacco product will not bring any good to your body, so as to your mouth. Smoking often leads to poor oral health, which includes:
- Foul-smelling mouth and breath
- Yellow and discolored teeth
- Salivary gland inflammation
- Weak jaw bone
- Increases risk of developing white patches inside the mouth or leukoplakia
- Prone to gum disease and potential loss of tooth
- Low success rate on many dental implant procedures
- High risk of developing cancer in the mouth
- Delayed healing in any oral treatment like tooth extraction, oral surgery, or periodontal treatment.
Smoking also leads to gum diseases.
If you are smoking, the nicotine and other harmful chemicals can attach to your teeth’ bone and soft tissue and damage Oral Health. Also, smoking can significantly interfere with your gum tissue cells’ normal functioning, and this interference can make you more susceptible to infections.
A Regular Visit To Your Family Dentist.
You must have a trusted family dentist nearby to keep your oral health in good condition. If you are in Birmingham, Birmingham family dental services should be your top choice. A dental trip should not only be for tooth extraction or dental implants. It should be done regularly with an expert who knows your dental history.
Your family dentist can help you know the symptoms of oral health issues. If you are experiencing any of the following warning signals of an Oral Health problem, call your family dentist at the soonest possible time and make an appointment.
- Mouth sores, ulcers, or tender mouth areas that are not healing in a week or two
- Inflamed and Bleeding gums after flossing or brushing
- Extreme and chronic bad breath
- Loose teeth or teeth about to fall
- Sensitivity to cold or hot beverages or food
- Extreme toothache
- receding gums
- Unusual clicking of the jaw
- pain biting and chewing
- broken and cracked tooth
- frequent dryness in the mouth
Takeaway and Credits
Dr. Stuart Curry practices Cosmetic, General and Family Dentistry here in Vestavia Hills, AL. Upon graduation from The University of Alabama School of Dentistry (UAB) in 2004, he spent 3 years in active duty service in the United States Air Force where Dr. Curry was able to fine tune his skills as a Dentist.
By starting his practice in 2007, he was able to build and manage a dental office where the patient’s needs come first. Using the latest dental technology, Dr. Curry strives to make every patient feel they are getting the best care possible.
As per Dr. Stuart Curry, you don’t wait till you have symptoms to see your family dentist. Visiting your dentist every six months will allow them to see the problem before you even notice or see signs. If your dental pain is accompanied by a facial or neck swelling with a high fever, seek emergency medical treatment right away.