A Smile that Lasts: The Importance of Oral Health and Hygiene
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), around 49% or 1 in 2 Australians aged 15 years or above visited a dentist in 2021-2022. Further, the National Oral Health Survey of 2018-19 disclosed that, on average, Brisbane residents aged 15 and above had 5.7 teeth missing. This means that more and more Aussies are seeking dental care, either to treat dental conditions or to attain general dental health.
A bright smile exudes confidence, enchants people, and can even help calm you in a stressful environment. Smiling is contagious, which means you can spread positivity by wearing a radiating smile.
In this post, we'll discuss the importance of dental health and hygiene and how a healthy mouth can give you an everlasting smile.
What is oral hygiene?
Maintaining oral hygiene involves the practice of keeping your teeth and gums healthy, as well as ensuring cleanliness in your mouth. It involves brushing and flossing your teeth daily, having your teeth checked by a dentist, and eating a healthy and nutrient-rich diet.
Not only does it help prevent plaque and tartar buildup on your teeth, but it also inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria in your mouth. And by engaging in this practice, you can ensure a healthy mouth and promote excellent oral hygiene.
Those with poor oral health are at risk of tooth loss and tooth decay, which not only have an adverse effect on the aesthetics of your smile but also cause pain and discomfort.
According to the AIHW data for 2019-20, about 67,000 hospitalizations due to dental conditions could have been avoided with earlier treatment. In Brisbane, Australia, you can find top-notch dentists who are committed to providing quality dental care and specialized treatment at affordable prices. Whether you are looking for a general checkup, dental implant, or a session for teeth whitening Brisbane has some of the finest dentists at Underwood Dental Care dedicated to restoring the health and radiance of your smile.
Why is oral hygiene important?
Dental hygiene can give you a host of health benefits and prevents most dental conditions from happening. Here are some of the main reasons for taking care of your oral hygiene:
1- It improves your overall health
If you maintain your oral hygiene, it can help you keep your teeth and gums healthy. The state of your oral health often reveals considerable details about the overall health of your body and the possible diseases you might be having. This means a person with excellent oral cleanliness will most likely have a healthy body.
The mouth is the entry point to your digestive and respiratory systems. So, if you have poor oral hygiene, bacterial infections can quickly spread from your mouth to the other parts of your body through your body systems. In some cases, harmful bacteria from your mouth can enter your bloodstream and spread throughout your body, causing serious conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and even diabetes.
2- Early diagnosis of oral diseases
Maintaining good oral health also involves periodic visits to a dentist apart from routinely brushing and flossing your teeth. This ensures that any disease occurring in the mouth is diagnosed early before causing any damage. When detected at their early stages, diseases are much easier and quicker to cure than diseases that have been diagnosed after a considerable time at the disease's later stages.
3- Healthier teeth and gums
When you brush and floss your teeth regularly and visit your dentist for periodic dental checks, your teeth and gums will stay healthy. Sometimes, your dentist may do deep cleaning or scaling on your teeth to remove tartar and plaque hidden in the pockets beneath your gums. The condition, when it worsens, is termed periodontitis. The tartar can build up in difficult-to-clean areas of your mouth due to your teeth' alignment or your brushing style. Regular visits to your dentist will ensure your mouth's excellent hygiene, resulting in healthier teeth and gums.
4- Keeps your breath fresh
Bad dental hygiene also creates an unpleasant condition called halitosis or bad breath. When you don't brush and floss your teeth regularly, the food particles stuck between your teeth start to decay, and the bacteria in the mouth begin to release an unpleasant odor. Bacteria then grow on it and secrete sulfur compounds that produce a foul odor. Bad breath can be extremely embarrassing and make you lose confidence while interacting with others in formal or informal settings.
However, to prevent halitosis or bad breath, you must stick to the strict brushing and flossing routine with regular visits to your dentist. This will keep your breath fresh, help you stay confident in any setting, and enable you to sport a wide smile.
5- Prevents the need for expensive dental procedures
When you are careless with your oral wellness, you gradually develop conditions like swollen gums, plaque, bad breath, receding gums, loose teeth, tooth loss, tooth decay, and bacterial infections, among many others. These conditions can exacerbate if untreated and can even lead to mouth cancer. Further, the infections in the mouth can spread to other parts of the body, which can further complicate the matter. You will then try to conceal your smile because you fear exposing your dental conditions.
Fixing dental problems like tooth loss and tooth decay requires expensive and painful dental procedures, such as dentures, crowns, root canals, etc. While these procedures can resolve some problems, your best bet to cure these dental conditions is to observe your oral health routine rigorously. Further, restoring your dental aesthetics becomes difficult if significant damage has been done due to the disease.
Final thoughts
Everyone wants to have a perfect smile, but it can turn dull if you don't take oral hygiene seriously. By practicing oral wellness, you save yourself from developing dental diseases, which can develop into other lethal conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, and even cancer.
Brush at least twice every day, preferably with a fluoride toothpaste. Floss in between your teeth once daily. There are spaces between your gums and teeth where a toothbrush can't reach and clean. Flossing will remove the food particles trapped in those spaces and prevent calculus buildup.
