Dental Care Can Prevent Disease-Not Just Replace And Repair

Dental care is extremely important in maintaining wellness and health. Involving care of the gums, interrelated mouth structures, and early recognition of cancerous lesions, dental care also includes the prevention of future dental disease and repair of damaged teeth. Countless cases have shown that people suffer from dental problems mainly due to lack of proper dental hygiene awareness, excess intake of sugar, and just being plain old lazy in keeping the teeth and gums clean.

Keep in mind that baby teeth are not as strong as permanent teeth. If they are not subjected to proper dental care, their teeth can decay and cavities can appear quickly. I am sure you do not want to jeopardize your child’s dental health at a very early age. Another thing is that most dental health care facilities do not offer dental treatment to infants or children below 3 years old, so it is your responsibility to keep his teeth strong and his mouth clean.

Here are 3 tips in taking care of your baby’s teeth:

Regularly visiting a professional dentist for cleanups and checkups can help prevent dental problems and help maintain optimal dental health. Any person concerned about their well-being and dental health should not wait for a toothache to have to visit a dentist. Dental experts help prevent gum disease through professional dental treatment to avoid decay and gum disease complications like periodontitis. Dental visits also help combat oral cancer, which causes deaths by the hour everyday in the United States alone, as announced by The Oral Cancer Foundation.

Do not let your baby get used to sleeping with a feeding bottle in his/her mouth – especially if it is not water. Whether it is milk or juice, never give harmful bacteria on the child’s mouth something to feed on. Chances are he/she would develop the nursing bottle syndrome, which is a serious dental disorder. Even an infant’s mouth is not exempted from having bacteria inside. These bacteria feed on sugar and if the bottle is left overnight with a drink with sugar, the bacteria secrete acids that attack the enamel of the baby’s tooth, causing it to rot and decay. Instead of using milk or juice before bedtime, use water.

Permanent teeth begin to appear at around 6 years old. Before this time, you should ensure that you use tooth paste that do not have high levels of fluoride as these could damage the teeth in a condition called flourosis. It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry that you use fluoridated toothpaste after your baby has reached 2 years old.

By making sure that your kid’s teeth are sound, you are teaching the importance of dental care. It would be a great advantage sooner or later. If your child is educated early in dental health care, you would hardly spend on dental treatments and emergency dental care. With this in mind, you are assured that your child’s teeth would grow in perfect condition.

First Trip to the Dentist


Image by Andrew Scott

How To Care For Your Teeth

With more people taking better care of their teeth at home and with advanced dental treatments, more people are keeping their natural teeth for a lifetime. Two of the most important things you can do at home is to: Brush your teeth and floss your teeth properly every day.

That sticky substance called plaque causes most dental problems that occur in the mouth. A bacterium in plaque produces acids that attack the enamel of the tooth and can cause decay. Plaque can also cause gum disease. If untreated gum disease can lead to a serious infection that can destroy gum tissue and surrounding bone. If the bone is infected, teeth can be lost.

The best thing you can do to have healthy teeth and gums is to remove the plaque that build up on your teeth daily, before it has a chance to cause any damage to your teeth and gums. The brushing is done to remove the plaque from the tooth surfaces and if your brush correctly you can also remove the plaque from under the gums. Flossing removes plaque from in between two teeth.

We learn how to brush when we are kids and sometimes we can get sloppy or we hurry through the task and do not brush all of our teeth or even all of the surfaces of our teeth. We can damage our gums if we brush too hard. Believe it or not, there are different ways to brush your teeth correctly and your hygienist or dentist can show you the way that is best for you.

Parents should brush their kids teeth through age 5 and supervise kids from age 6 through 10. Teeth should be brushed a minimum of twice a day, but ideally after each meal. Even if you do not eat breakfast, you should brush your teeth early in the morning to remove plaque build up during the night. At night you have less saliva to protect your teeth against plaque so it is really important to brush your teeth.

Most people tend to brush their teeth too hard, you really only need to brush lightly. Once plaque has hardened into tartar, you cannot brush it away the hygienist must remove it. To remember to brush lightly, hold your toothbrush like you would hold a pen.

You should brush your teeth for a minimum of two minutes each time you brush. Set a timer if you have to, to be sure that you brush for a full two minutes. Longer is fine, but two minutes is a minimum because it is what is required to brush all of your teeth and their surfaces. Sometimes brushing your teeth in the same order each time will help you to brush every tooth. Use a soft bristled brush; anything harder might cause gum damage. It is important to change your toothbrush regularly when it looks like it is getting worn or every 3 months whichever comes sooner.

It is important to choose the right toothpaste for you. Ask your dentist for advise. It is important to choose one that has fluoride.

Your dentist or hygienist can demonstrate the proper way to brush your teeth.

Floss once a day and in between each tooth. Take your time flossing, there is no hurry and doing a through job of getting in between each tooth is important. Do not skimp on the floss. There are many different types of floss, so ask your dentist for the best type for you.

Your dentist or hygienist can demonstrate the proper way to floss your teeth.