Professional dental examinations and a regular routine at home do not only keep your mouth clean — they can even save your life. Caring for your mouth, teeth and gums matters for your general health: it can prevent decay, periodontitis and infection and lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. An added bonus is that you can keep your natural teeth into old age.
A regular home routine of brushing, flossing and rinsing, combined with regular professional examinations and cleanings, is the best way to keep your teeth. It also helps prevent life-threatening illness. Research shows that 90% of systemic diseases, heart disease among them, also have oral symptoms. A clean, infection-free mouth gives you an additional layer of protection.
Here are some ways to make your home routine as effective as possible:
- Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle where tooth and gum meet, and brush twice a day for two minutes.
- Clean every surface of your teeth, including the cheek side, the tongue side and the chewing surfaces.
- To clean the tongue side of the front teeth, hold the brush vertically and use small, short strokes.
- Do not forget to brush your tongue.
- Use floss at least once a day.
- Use a mouthwash to remove biofilm and bacteria that brushing alone misses. Choose an alcohol-free version, though, to avoid drying out the tissue of your mouth.
- If you cannot brush, reach for chewing gum. Chewing sugar-free gum for 20 minutes after eating can help neutralise acids and increase saliva flow to wash food particles away.
It is also important to remember that professional examinations and cleanings matter just as much as a committed home routine. At a professional examination your hygienist and dentist are not only looking for signs of decay. The colour of your gums and oral tissue, the amount of plaque, gum overgrowth and other problems can alert your dentist to potentially life-threatening conditions.
Professional cleanings remove plaque and tartar located beneath the gum and between the teeth. Even the most careful home care needs a hygienist’s help: with special instruments they can reach places a toothbrush cannot.
If you neglect home care and skip regular examinations, you also risk developing or worsening cardiovascular problems. Periodontitis is an active infection of the gum tissue. Left untreated, you risk bone and tooth loss. If the infection enters the bloodstream through an open wound in the mouth, there is a risk of serious cardiovascular problems such as endocarditis — a rare infection in the lining of the heart chambers and valves, caused by bacteria that spread through your blood and attach to already damaged areas of your heart.
Oral health has many facets, and each is as important as the others. By establishing and keeping a daily routine of brushing, flossing and rinsing combined with professional cleaning, you can help keep your teeth and your body healthy for the rest of your life.
