Brush up on healthy dental care habits

April is Oral Health Month in Canada so what better time to (ahem) brush up on your dental care regimen? After all, the better you take care of your teeth, the longer you can hold onto your healthy, pearly whites. Are you doing all that you can to care for your teeth? Read on.

Brush for two minutes

If you can, brush after every meal (Bonus: you may find yourself less likely to cave into cravings if your teeth are fresh and clean) or at the very least in the morning and before bedtime. To help make sure you brush for two minutes, electronic tooth brushes have timers alerting you of when two minutes is up. Use a regular toothbrush? Check the clock in your bathroom or brush during a commercial break on TV (they’re typically two to three minutes).

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Rinse your teeth after eating sugar

If you’re able to (easier to do at home, harder when out in public) rinse your teeth after eating something sugary so you don’t have the film of sugar coating your teeth. Also, when drinking pop, use a straw (less soda will coat your teeth).

Replace your toothbrush every two months or so

Pay attention to the condition of your toothbrush. One should last you about two months, but if it’s looking worn or frayed, replace it right away. After all, if you’re aiming to take care of your teeth and are brushing diligently, your efforts will be reduced if your brush is not in great shape.

Floss daily

Your brush can only reach so many spots – it can’t get in between your teeth. If you find traditional floss a chore to use, try interdental brush picks or Philips AirFloss (a dental tool that blasts a burst of air and water or mouthwash in between your teeth to clean the area).

Eat foods that help slough off plaque

You can help keep your teeth clean by eating certain foods that help scrape away plaque and massage gums. Try raw carrots, green peppers, celery and nuts. Snacking, too, will help promote more salivation, which can help plaque and bacteria from adhering.

Can Brushing your Teeth Improve your Overall Health

The general notion of oral hygiene, as pictured by most of the populace, is that the pivotal oral cavity we must protect encompasses the top of the crown, to the bottom. This is far from the case.

The notion that our teeth may affect the whole of our anatomy is both true, and something that is far overlooked. If one succumbs to a severe enough periodontal disease or other sorts of bacterial infection, a more severe prognosis could develop, tying one’s oral health to one’s overall health.

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The school of dentistry includes periodontics, endodontics, and other forms of oral pathology that specialize in tooth ailments, especially those that fall within the enamel and dentin, as well as its supporting structures. These specialists have led to the expounding of oral health and its connection with heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.

Risks associated with poor oral hygiene

As time progresses, and if bacterial damage or oral hypoxemia occurs to the periodontal ligament, the gum itself, or other supporting structures, it may lead to premature tooth loss. While losing a tooth is harmful enough as is, the resulting cavity could operate as a portal of entry for other pathogens, which may affect the rest of the human body.

Some dentists make grander claims, stating that they can gain a good summation of one’s overarching health based solely on their teeth. This may prove as more than just an anecdote, as oral hygiene is becoming increasingly linked to diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

From papers like those produced by Juxiang Peng et al., we are shown firsthand that treating periodontal diseases at earlier stages directly correlates to the later reduction of coronary heart disease. Infectious agents found within the oral cavity reflect a diminishing in observed white blood cell count and a decrease in serum albumin. Many believe that gum disease of this nature only afflicts geriatrics and those of an older generation. This is only because these plaques and chronic infections have been given the necessary time to develop, though the rate of infection or inflammation varies greatly, and could affect any generation.

It is important to emphasize the fact that there are numerous studies that link atherosclerosis, and plaque-related ailments to cancer, rather than there being a direct cause and effect.

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Tooth plaque and its relationship to atherosclerosis

A well-known example of an ailment that is interrelated with tooth infection is atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a form of heart disease that consists of plaques amassing around the arterial lining, required to supply arterialized blood to the heart and muscles. If time progresses, and one does not treat this debris and surrounding tissue damage, plaque buildup could develop chronically and may narrow the blood supply and restrict the amount of oxygenated blood supplied to smooth muscle, and cardiac muscle.

 

What is interesting is that the plaque that forms around one’s heart, is analogous to those that surround the teeth, stemming from the same kind of bacteria, generating the same kind of chemical waste through their cell membrane, afflicting the encompassing environment.

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