Daily brushing and flossing along with regular visits with your family dentist for a cleaning and dental exam will help promote good oral health. Five reasons you shouldn’t neglect your dental health include:
- Studies show that overall health and oral health are closely linked. Patients that neglect their teeth and gums are often the same individuals that suffer from medical conditions such as heart disease and illnesses associated with the immune system like Type 2 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis.
- Decay and/or gum disease often occur due to neglect. It is true that some dental conditions can be attributed to genetics, but just because your ancestors passed on some type of genetic dental problem, there are solutions that can resolve just about anything you may have inherited.
- Tooth loss can have a devastating effect on your day to day living. Failure to care for your teeth could lead to decay or gum disease that eventually might cost you one or more teeth. Missing teeth affect your appearance, ability to chew properly, and can even alter how you speak.
- Dental care resulting from neglect can be time consuming and costly. Detecting a problem and treating it in the early stages allows for a more conservative approach to care.
- Regular visits to the dentist will provide a thorough cleaning to remove all plaque that formed since your last visit. Teeth will be polished to look their best and an exam will be completed to look for treatable concerns. This includes problems that could prove very serious if undetected such as signs of oral cancer.
Not only should everyone brush and floss daily, but other steps that should be taken include a proper diet that is high in nutrition (fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein, healthy grains) and low in sugar (many processed foods and sugary beverages). Other steps include:
Do not smoke or use tobacco in any form.
Get sufficient sleep daily; stay sufficiently hydrated (with water); exercise daily (even a few minutes is better than nothing at all); and follow the advice issued by your family dentist regarding your dental health.
Brush with a fluoridated toothpaste twice each day; floss daily; and see your dentist every six months for cleaning and exam. These steps will help promote good oral health and protect your teeth that must serve you for a lifetime.
Contact our caring team at the office of Dr. Daggula today!
