Every day your smile is attacked by acids, bacteria, thousands of pounds of pressure and hours of grinding. The strange part about this is that this is what is considered normal. When things are not normal, because you smoke, chew tobacco or have a dental problem, then conditions in your mouth can get really ugly. The key to protecting your smile and keeping all of your teeth is to invest in routine dental care.
Routine Dental Care - At Home
Routine dental care needs to start at home. The American Academy of Periodontology published a study that showed that daily brushing and flossing was critical to both preventing the development of dental problems, as well as improving serious dental conditions like halitosis and gingival bleeding. Developing a dental care routine at home is the cheapest way to prevent tooth loss.
Routine Dental Care - Preventative Care
The next step in routine dental care is to visit your dentist at least twice a year. The first visit to a dentist needs to be when a baby gets their first tooth and continue throughout a person's life. Preventative dental care includes things like: routine cleanings, fluoride treatments, the application of tooth sealants and dental education. All of these things are important to helping people prevent tooth loss.
Routine Dental Care - Early Intervention
The final way that routine dental care helps to prevent tooth loss is by identifying dental issues during the early stages of their development. For example, dentists can spot and treat a cavity before it is able to impact the root or cause a serious infection. Dentists can also diagnose the early stages of gum disease and mouth cancers and start treating the problems to prevent them from impacting the health of your mouth. Early intervention is key to preventing tooth loss caused by diseases of the mouth.
Sources:
Journal of Periodontology, 2006, Vol. 77, No. 8. "Assessment of Treatment Responses to Dental Flossing in Twins."
Author: Eisla Sebastian
© 2008 Associated Content