Some of Our Dental Hygiene & Preventive Dentistry Services Include:
Routine Dental Cleanings and Checkups
- Dental cleanings / prophylaxis
- (Low-dose digital) X-rays
- Oral cancer screening
- Dry mouth treatment
Periodontal Treatments
- Deep cleanings
- Periodontal maintenance
- Fluoride treatments
Occlusal Guards
- Occlusal nightguards (for bruxism/grinding/clenching)
- Sports mouthguards
- Retainers (post-orthodontic treatment)
Dental Hygiene
Maintaining good dental hygiene is more than just about keeping your smile beautiful; it’s a crucial component of overall health and wellness. This comprehensive guide explores the multifaceted aspects of dental hygiene, from the basics of brushing and flossing to the deeper implications of diet and lifestyle on your oral health. Proper dental care not only prevents oral diseases, it also helps protect against serious systemic health issues, enhancing both your confidence and your quality of life.
What is Dental Hygiene and Why is it Important?
Dental hygiene refers to the physical care of the teeth and gums. It is essential because it not only helps prevent dental and oral diseases, it also contributes to overall well-being, and enhances social interactions by boosting confidence and reducing embarrassment about bad breath or discolored teeth.
How Does Dental Hygiene Affect Overall Health?
Poor dental hygiene can lead to several health problems beyond the mouth, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetic complications, and respiratory infections. The bacteria from inflamed gums and periodontal disease can enter the bloodstream and travel to arteries in the heart, contributing to heart disease.
How To Maintain Good Dental Hygiene
Brushing Like a Pro
Brushing twice a day is fundamental in dental hygiene. Effective brushing involves using a soft-bristled brush to clean all surfaces of the teeth with gentle, circular motions rather than aggressive back-and-forth strokes. Plaque is soft, and not difficult to remove. It’s important to take your time and be thorough. The 2-minute rule should allow for thorough plaque removal. Brushing fast and hard damages not only the enamel layer of the teeth, but it also often causes gum recession as well.
Flossing Finesse
Flossing daily helps remove plaque and food particles trapped between teeth where a toothbrush cannot reach. It is crucial in preventing periodontal disease by removing debris from along the gum line, thus preventing plaque buildup that can lead to tartar. Many people find flossing properly a challenge. But like anything, it just takes a little practice. If you struggle with this, check out our page on flossing. Hopefully, the tips and tricks we show will be helpful for you.
Going the Extra Mile: Additional Practices for Exceptional Oral Health
Besides brushing and flossing, using an antibacterial mouthwash can help reduce bacteria that cause plaque and gum disease. Regularly cleaning the tongue with a scraper can also minimize harmful bacteria that contribute to bad breath. Using a water pik is another good way to help remove debris between teeth.
Impact of Diet on Dental Health
Your diet plays a crucial role in the health of your teeth and gums. The nutrients from foods and the types of foods you eat can either promote dental health or contribute to tooth decay and gum disease. A balanced diet with essential nutrients is not only good for the rest of your body, it also strengthens the teeth and gums, which help protect against dental diseases.
Foods that Promote Healthy Teeth and Gums
Calcium-rich foods: The main function of the hard outer shell of your teeth, the enamel, is to protect your teeth from damage. Calcium strengthens the enamel, which protects against erosion. Foods high in calcium include milk, cheese, yogurt, and leafy green vegetables.
Vitamin C: Essential for gum health, Vitamin C helps to keep the connective tissues in your gums healthy, reducing the risk of gingivitis. Good sources of Vitamin C include citrus fruits, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and spinach.
Phosphorus: Found in eggs, fish, lean meat, and dairy, phosphorus is critical for maintaining strong teeth.
Water: Drinking plenty of water keeps your mouth hydrated, encourages saliva production, and washes away food particles and acids from the teeth and gums. For people with dry mouth, it is particularly important to keep the mouth lubricated, as dry mouth greatly increases the risk of recurring decay, gum disease and fungal infections.
Crunchy fruits and vegetables: Apples, carrots, and celery help clean teeth and increase saliva production, which washes away food particles and neutralizes harmful acids.
Foods and Habits to Avoid for Better Dental Health
Sugary foods and drinks: Sugar is a leading cause of tooth decay. It alters the bacterial diversity in your mouth, causing the decline of some good bacteria and enhancing the predominance of certain bad bacteria known to increase the risk of caries (cavities). Avoid candies, particularly sticky or gummy sweets, and sugary beverages like soda and fruit juice.
Acidic foods and drinks: These can erode tooth enamel over time, which can never be replaced. Limit citrus fruits, tomatoes, and acidic drinks like sodas, and sports drinks. If you must consume these, be sure and rinse your mouth well after eating/drinking them.
Starchy foods: Film from foods like bread, chips, pasta, and crackers can linger in your mouth and break down into simple sugars, which bacteria feed on, producing acids that lead to tooth decay. To limit this, be sure and brush well after consuming starchy foods.
Smoking and chewing tobacco: We all know the dangers of using tobacco in any form. Aside from causing lung cancer (smoking), these habits can stain teeth, cause gum disease, and are linked to a much higher risk of oral cancer.
Alcohol consumption: Drinking alcohol occasionally can be part of a healthy lifestyle, but regular consumption can affect your oral health in negative ways. Alcohol can dry out your mouth, reducing saliva production, which is necessary to help protect teeth from decay. It also helps to prevent from developing gum disease, oral cancer and other infections.
The Rewards of Good Hygiene: A Brighter, Healthier You!
Maintaining good dental hygiene can lead to a healthier mouth and a more vibrant smile. It can also reduce the risk of serious diseases linked to poor oral health, boost overall health, and contribute to a better quality of life and longer lifespan.
Professional Dental Care
Regular visits to the dentist (typically recommended every six months), are crucial for maintaining oral health. Some people need to be seen more frequently, some, a little less frequently. But everyone should be on some type of recall routine with their dentist, to be sure their oral health is being monitored: the bacterial level is maintained, tartar is removed, the gums are healthy, and that no oral cancer is present. These visits allow for professional cleaning that removes plaque and tartar buildup, and dental exams that can detect early signs of oral health issues.
The Importance of Professional Cleanings and Oral Exams
Professional cleanings help maintain oral health and can help prevent the progression of gum disease and tooth decay. Oral exams are essential as they help in the early detection of oral cancers and other dental issues that might go unnoticed until they become problematic, allowing for timely treatment.
The Significance of Oral Exams
Oral exams are another fundamental component of dental visits and are usually conducted in conjunction with cleanings. These exams allow the dentist to evaluate the overall health of your mouth, including your teeth, gums, tongue, and surrounding tissues. One of the key benefits of regular oral exams is the early detection of oral cancers. We look for signs of abnormal-looking tissues, any lumps, or discolorations that might indicate the presence of cancer. Early detection of oral cancer significantly improves the outcome, as it can be treated more effectively when caught early.
In addition to cancer screening, oral exams also provide an opportunity for dentists to identify and diagnose other potential issues such as cavities, broken fillings, failing crowns, and the early stages of gum disease. These issues, if left untreated, can lead to more serious problems requiring more complex and expensive treatments. Routine exams help to catch these problems early, often when they’re most treatable.
The Significance of Periodic X-Rays
Most adults should have x-rays periodically to evaluate the things we cannot see in an intraoral exam. (Things like margins around crowns, the areas between the teeth, the roots of teeth previously treated with endodontics (root canals), or dental implants, to assure the implants and the surrounding bone are still healthy.)
Most patients should have follow-up x-rays every 12-24months in order to catch problems when they first appear and any problems are easier to restore. However, someone with a high rate of recurring decay may need them as frequently as every 6 months. As we age, and a tooth is restored, and later, restored again and again over the years, more and more of the natural tooth is removed and the lifespan of the tooth may become compromised to the point of it being no longer restorable. X-rays can help us identify problems before they start to hurt or break or fail. Today’s dental x-rays are safe, and extremely low in radiation.
Preventive Care and Timely Treatment
By combining professional cleanings with regular oral exams, patients can maintain optimal oral health and proactively mitigate potential problems that could lead to severe complications. This preventive approach not only helps preserve the health and functionality of one’s teeth and gums but also significantly impacts most unexpected dental emergencies. Regular check-ups ensure that minor issues can be addressed before they evolve into major concerns, thus maintaining good oral health and reducing the need for more invasive treatments in the future.
