Healthy Dental Habits

Brushing your teeth twice a day is the only way to prevent cavities, gum disease and all sorts of other problems that could lead to losing your teeth or even losing your life. Taking care of your teeth is no laughing matter and really needs to be treated with serious intention on the part of people of all ages, beginning with the infants and continuing into the senior years.

 The American Dental Association says when children have their first tooth that is when it is time to begin good oral health habits and continue for the rest of their lives. Setting up good oral health habits is a must for preventing bad oral health complications.

 It’s no fun to have a tooth ache and be expected to perform well on the job or at school. It is really no fun to have a tooth ache that will not go away and not have a dentist you can call. People who are uninsured or have state insurance such as Medicaid run into this situation all too often. So, taking care of your teeth by brushing and flossing is the easiest and most economical way to avoid the nagging tooth ache that makes for a bad day or bad week or makes you finally end up in the emergency room begging someone to yank the tooth at any cost.

 Preventing oral health disease really starts before the baby is born:

 Make sure the “mommy in the making” has healthy teeth. Be sure to see a dentist if you are pregnant or are planning to be pregnant. By taking care of your teeth, you are assuring the health of your baby’s teeth. If you do not take care of your teeth or at least go to a dentist so they can help you have a healthy mouth, then you are risking your baby at getting Early Childhood Carries Disease. This disease makes it so when your baby is born he or she has the bacteria in his or her mouth that makes cavities. In other words, the baby is born with cavity forming bacteria right from day 1 of its life.

 Preventing oral health disease continues after the baby is born:

 As parents we want the best for our children, and making sure that the teeth of an infant are healthy is at the top of the list. There are an increasing number of cases whereby babies are seen at the dentist with baby bottle tooth decay(see website for more info: http://www.ada.org/3034.aspx) . In some severe cases, babies have black teeth by the time they are 2 years old and all their teeth are rotted. How can this be prevented? By simply not putting your baby to bed with a bottle in their mouths, you can prevent this from happening to your baby’s mouth. When the bottle is in the baby’s mouth the sugar in the baby’s formula, fruit juice, kool-aide or other sugary type of drinks spread on the teeth and throughout the mouth and while the baby is sleeping the “sugar bugs” go to work burrowing themselves in your child’s gums, tongue and tooth enamel. That is why it is not wise to put your baby to bed with a bottle. If the baby must suck on something to go to sleep, use a teething ring only until the baby is close to going asleep. Then gently remove the ring so as not to disturb the baby from going to sleep. Also, after giving your baby something with sugar in it to drink, give them some water immediately after that. This does two things, it rinses out the “sugar bugs” and it gets the child use to drinking good ole fashioned H2O (water). This comes in handy as the infant child grows older.

 Preventing oral health disease after the baby is now a child and adolescent:

 Developing brushing and flossing habits are a must for children and adolescents. They are growing and developing in so many ways physically, mentally, and emotionally that having regular, routine habits such as brushing and flossing their teeth twice a day will assure them of having great looking smiles with white and healthy teeth. No one wants to see a child toothless in the front, or a teenager with rotted teeth that looks ugly when they smile. Not only is the cosmetic concern a reason enough for brushing and flossing, but there is an element of health risk too. In fact, there is a huge risk of gum disease and tooth abscess to consider when making a decision in favor or not in favor of taking care of children and adolescence oral health.

 Preventing oral health disease after the child/adolescent reaches adult hood:

 Maintaining a routine that brushes and flosses teeth twice a day becomes more of a challenge as we grow older and assume more responsibilities in life. For those that become parents, now we are getting ourselves up and ready as well as our children and taking them here and there while balancing out the demands of our careers, jobs and household chores, meals, cleaning and other daily routines. So, more than ever, the intention for keeping our teeth and gums healthy comes into play. Other than the cosmetic reason for wanting to have an attractive smile, there is another great reason for adults taking care of their teeth and gums, and that is to prevent periodontal disease:

Periodontal (gum) disease is an infection caused by bacteria that gets under the gum tissue and begins to destroy the gums and bone. Teeth become loose, chewing becomes difficult, and teeth may have to be extracted. Gum disease also may be connected to damage elsewhere in the body; recent studies link oral infections with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and premature, low-weight births. Further research is under way to examine these connections. (taken from the article found at website: http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/doh.htm.

DO NOT FORGET TO BRUSH YOUR TONGUE. The tongue is where most of the bacteria that causes cavities like to hide. So be sure and brush the bacteria out of your mouth and onto your tooth brush. Rinsing your mouth with a fluoridated mouth wash is also a great way to keep the cavity-causing bacteria out of your mouth.

 The Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser         
is a very popular flosser especially designed for those of us who choose not to use dental floss. You get to floss without the hassle of floss