5 Ways to Reduce Your Chances of Dental Disorders

Unfortunately, people view their oral health like they do their car. It’s something they’re not going to be able to keep their entire life. You can try to make some improvements here and there, and it’s a good idea to maintain it every once in a while, but in the end it’ll make no difference. This is completely false. Losing your teeth and getting dentures is NOT a normal part of aging. Your teeth and your smile are something you can keep your whole life. In fact, this is something you should strive to do. If you’re committed to keeping your smile pristine, here are 5 tips to help you decrease your chances of dental disorders throughout your lifetime.

1. Stay Committed to Your Routine

The best way to reduce your chances of getting a cavity or any other form of decay is to keep up with your brushing and flossing routine every day. However, that can be difficult when you lead a busy life, especially if you’re raising a family. It’s hard to keep up with your dental routine when you’re trying to watch your children’s as well. That’s why it’s always important to keep a schedule. Make sure you provide yourself enough time in the morning so you don’t feel rushed. If you’re worried about being late for work or worried that your children might be late for school, you might be less inclined to brush, floss, or do both.

The same goes for the evening. If you’re rushing around trying to get your kids to bed, you might feel like you’re running out of time for a good night’s sleep. Therefore, you might skip out on your routine. And that’s how bad habits are formed! Make sure you provide yourself the allotted time for your kids to fall asleep and for you to brush and floss before bed.

2. Watch When You Snack

If you eat starchy or sugary treats before you go to bed, you’re increasing your chances for dental decay. The bacteria in your mouth feed on sugar and starch and produce acids as a byproduct. This acid is what attacks the enamel of our teeth. Therefore, if you snack before you go to bed and do not brush, you’re giving the bacteria a full night’s rest to attack your teeth. Even though you might be sleeping, they are not. Cookies and chips are not to be eaten before bed.

3. Examine Your Mouth

Sometimes, if there’s something wrong going on inside your mouth, you can see it before you can feel it. If you notice your gums are starting to swell, look a little too pink, or even bright red you might be experiencing gum disease. Luckily, gum disease can be reversed. However, if you’re not paying attention to your ailing oral health, it might go unnoticed until you truly feel a bad oral infection. That’s when root canals may need to occur, or you might even lose a tooth entirely. That’s why it’s important to inspect your whole mouth before or after you brush. You might be able to detect a minor problem before it becomes a major one.

4. Don’t Use Tobacco

There are many reasons to quit using tobacco products. The main points being that they increase your chances of having heart disease, as well as lung cancer. But your dentist will be quick to tell you that they also wreak havoc on your oral health. Not only do they stain your teeth and make your breath smell awful, but they increase your likelihood of getting oral cancer.

This type of cancer begins with a few dangerous spots or sores on the inside of your mouth, cheek, and even your tongue. Sometimes that can be hard to spot, or you might even assume it’s just an ulcer that refuses to go away. Nevertheless, these spots should be detected during your self examinations. However, they’re not always so easy to catch. That’s why it’s very important to…

5. Visit Your Dentist Regularly

By seeing your dentist at least two times a year for a dental check up, you’re providing yourself the opportunity to discover minor issues before they become big ones. This goes for cavities, gum disease, and oral cancers. Your dentist will go through a very thorough screening, making sure you do not have any problems occurring in your mouth. If (and hopefully they do not) your dentist does happen to detect something, the fact that you visit him or her twice a year means that the issue, at the very most, has only been occurring for six months. That’s plenty of time to reverse the problem or seek treatment to control or cure it. Brushing and flossing are not enough to ensure your smile is healthy and happy for all the days of your life. However, if you can combine that with regular dental checkups, snacking smart, examinations of your own mouth, and quitting tobacco there’s no reason not to assume you can’t keep your teeth for a lifetime!