Okemos, Lansing, East Lansing MI
The importance of good oral health cannot be overstated. A healthy mouth can sometimes be taken for granted, but anyone who’s ever had a toothache is acutely aware of how important a healthy, pain-free mouth is. A radiating smile is an important part of our appearance, and a healthy mouth is obviously critical to our overall physical health; after all, our teeth chew the food that nourishes our bodies.
An unhealthy smile will have the opposite effect. Damaged or missing teeth can cause pain, and discolored teeth can cause a person to lack self-confidence because s/he feels too embarrassed to smile. This can negatively impact someone’s personal and professional lives. Tooth decay can also have overall health consequences; studies have linked it with diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and an increased risk for premature birth and low birth weight in pregnant women.
Maintaining oral health is clearly important. Our family dentist in Okemos has compiled the following information to help you know how to do it:
Preventative measures
A strong oral hygiene routine is paramount to maintaining dental health. This includes brushing your teeth twice a day. Since even the most rigorous hygiene habits can miss some spots, especially between teeth, it’s important to make it to the dentist twice a year for regular checkups and cleanings.
Correct issues like bruxism and sleep apnea
Dental issues can cause teeth to be harmed even if you are very strict about your oral hygiene regimen.
Bruxism is the grinding or clenching of teeth, usually unconsciously and while sleeping. Severe grinding will wear down the enamel of the teeth. Stress and certain medications can cause bruxism, and so can sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a condition that causes the tissues of the throat and mouth to relax during deep sleep, which blocks the airway and forces the brain to wake the person sleeping to resume breathing.
Bruxism and sleep apnea frequently occur together, so treatment for one also often treats the other.
Hydrate and rinse
We’ve all heard about the numerous health benefits of drinking water. Some of these benefits are to oral health. Water counteracts tooth decay, which is the biggest threat to healthy teeth. Tooth decay starts when naturally occurring bacteria in the mouth — most notably Streptococcus mutans, which are in sugars including sucroses (found in actual sugar), glucose (in starches) and fructose (which is in most fruits and is also the main sweetener in high fructose corn syrup). S. mutans converts these into lactic acid, which wears down the enamel, or the hard, white covering of the teeth. It can also wear holes into the enamel, allowing infection to set in.
Many foods and drinks contain sugars and/or have high acid levels, such as soft drinks (even those without sugar likely contain high amounts of acid), vinegar, soy sauce, red wine and tomato sauces.
Drinking water neutralizes the acids that are responsible for breaking down the enamel, and enamel is restored by ions in saliva that bond to the enamel more readily in the presence of fluoride. Since fluoride is in the water supply of nearly every United States town/city, drinking tap water is beneficial for oral health. Simply rinsing the mouth with water after meals can have a similar effect and also helps rinse food particles out of the mouth.
Stay away from tobacco
The hazards of tobacco to human health are plentiful. It is particularly harmful to oral health. Nicotine turns yellow when mixed with oxygen, causing the yellowing of teeth. Nicotine also reduces saliva in the mouth, making saliva ineffective at its job of restoring enamel. This allows acid in the mouth to do more damage.
Family Dentist in East Lansing and Okemos
Correcting bruxism, drinking plenty of water and steering clear of tobacco products — including smoking and dipping — will help you maintain your oral health. But the true cornerstones of a strong oral health regimen require you to get back to the basics: keep up with brushing and flossing every day and don’t skip your regular dental checkups. If it’s time for your dental checkup, give us at Tenaglia Smiles a call today. We can be reached online or by calling (517) 940-8684.