Many people don’t think about their dental health to a significant degree, it’s true that brushing every morning is a great habit that a lot of folks practice, but what about the other factors such as flossing and routine check ups? While these things might seem unnecessary or even a waste of time/money, they are just as important as your daily brushing routine for reasons we will get into shortly today.
There is a saying that many dentists will tell you: “you only get one set” which is absolutely true. After people lose their baby teeth in replacement of their “adult teeth”, that is what you will have for the rest of your life which makes taking care of them a critical component for anyone who intends to keep their teeth for the rest of their lives.
People expect that as they hit old age they will lose their teeth and will have to resort to either dentures or implants, those solutions are great for individuals who have experienced tooth loss, but that doesn’t have to be the case if you practice great dental care now! Below we will discuss a few tips and facts to help you ensure a long life of oral health.
Brushing is Essential, but That isn’t the End of the Story!
A lot of people brush every morning out of habit which is an excellent thing to practice and we, as well as anyone else in the dentistry field will always tell you to brush daily, twice a day in fact; when you wake up and when you are going to bed. But are you taking these steps?
- Flossing
- Check ups every 6 months
- Eating a healthy diet
While it may seem like flossing and check ups might be a waste of time and money, the truth is that dentists recommend it for a reason! It’s easy for oral health issues to go unnoticed before it is too late and now the issue has snowballed into something that requires expensive and time consuming care. Think of the common cavity for example, it starts off as a minor issue that you may not notice at first, but it is indeed an infection that is occurring through bacteria eating away at the tooth. And even though you might be brushing daily, a cavity can still occur – less likely with self oral care? Definitely, but it can still happen.
Over time that cavity gets worse, making it even easier for bacteria to expand the gap and eventually, this cavity leads to tooth aches and a severe infection that requires urgent and extreme care. The vast majority of average cavities can simply be filled in a single visit to the dentist if spotted, but if left ignored the treatment can turn into a root canal or even extraction if left alone for too long.
This is one of the reasons why twice-a-year checkups are recommended. It allows us to spot oral health issues as early as possible and ensure that your oral health is in tip-top shape. Such issues include:
- Cavities
- Cracks
- Chips
- Sudden tooth sensitivity
All of which people tend to blow off, but as we mentioned above, seemingly small issues become severe over time.
But why floss? You may ask, while brushing is a significant part of dental care, a toothbrush simply can’t get to everything. Plaque can stick and build up in between your teeth, which contains bacteria that can start attacking at a tooth causing an infection overtime. Plaque also turns into tartar which can only be removed by dentist as home-tools simply can’t get rid of it, in addition, tartar removal requires immense precision.
