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The Importance of Good Oral Hygiene

Oral hygiene is the practice of maintaining a healthy mouth. This includes the inside of your cheeks, your teeth, and your gums. It involves brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day and visiting trusted dentists like Lowenberg, Lituchy and Kantor at least twice a year. By failing to do so, you may end up developing a number of serious, and even fatal, health conditions down the line. Continue reading to find out the importance of good oral hygiene.

It can impact your overall health and wellness

As well as impacting your mouth, poor oral hygiene can have a negative impact on your overall health and wellness. When it comes to detecting the presence of systemic diseases, symptoms often materialize in the mouth. For example, diabetes tends to make itself known by triggering mouth lesions and gum infections. According to a recent study, if you suffer from periodontal disease, or gum disease, you are more likely to develop heart disease. This is due to periodontal disease increasing the body’s burden of inflammation. If left untreated for a prolonged period of time, gum inflammation in the mouth can end up prompting artery inflammation in the heart. By maintaining good oral hygiene, you can prevent the onset of a number of serious health conditions and reduce your risk of secondary complications.

It can help braces wearers  

If you are fitted with standard braces, clear braces, or invisible braces, you must maintain good oral hygiene. With less flexibility when it comes to brushing and flossing your teeth, you are more likely to suffer from plaque, bad breath, and gum disease. This is especially important for wearers of standard braces. With metal wiring and brackets breeding grounds for food, debris, and bacteria, your teeth must be subject to a thorough cleaning routine twice a day. With reduced access to the surface of your teeth, it can also be easy to get lazy and let your standards slip. Clear and invisible braces, on the other hand, can be removed to allow you to brush and floss your teeth normally. Regardless of which type of braces you opt for; mouthwash should be incorporated into your daily oral hygiene routine to freshen your breath and extend to those hard-to-reach pockets between your teeth.

It can prevent tooth loss  

Gum disease is one of the leading causes of tooth loss in children as well as adults. By maintaining good oral hygiene, you can prevent gum disease and protect your teeth. More often than not, gum disease materializes from a build-up of plaque and tartar that accumulates on and around the teeth. The only way to get rid of plaque and tartar is to brush and floss your teeth for a minimum of two minutes twice a day. Mouthwash should succeed in eliminating any remaining food particles. To ensure your oral hygiene is as good as it can be, you must also remember to schedule an appointment to get your teeth professionally cleaned by a dentist, orthodontist, or dental hygienist at least twice a year. This can pick up on any health conditions in your mouth or elsewhere before they deteriorate or worsen over time.

It can allow your dentist to create an individual dental plan

By visiting your dentist on a regular basis, they can familiarize themselves with your complete dental history and create an individual dental plan for you going forward. Whether you are worried about a wobbly tooth coming loose or are looking to get braces in the near future, your dentist can advise you on the best course of action for you and point you in the right direction. Your dentist should also be able to answer any niggling questions or queries and even recommend a local orthodontist for further treatment if necessary.

It can help you maintain a bright, white smile

Your smile is your best asset. By maintaining good oral hygiene, you can be confident in your ability to show off your smile to the world. Ensuring your mouth not only looks good but feels good can boost your confidence and allow you to shine from the inside out. By brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day and visiting a dentist twice a year, you can relax knowing you are doing all you can to practice good oral hygiene. Using mouthwash on a daily basis, cleaning between your teeth using interdental brushes if and when need be and cutting down on your intake of salt and sugar whenever possible can also safeguard your teeth for decades to come.

Maintaining good oral hygiene is an integral part of living a healthy lifestyle. As well as impacting your overall health and wellness, it can also help braces wearers, prevent tooth loss, allow your dentist to create an individual dental plan, and maintain a bright, white smile.

 

 

Jeff Campbell