Oral Health and Oral Hygiene

Whether you’re a child, a teen, or an adult, oral hygiene is of primary importance. It is essential that every one of us have a high level of oral health. As an adult, oral hygiene is important if we want to look and feel our best. Feeling good about our oral hygiene, and having a healthy smile, gives us confidence like nothing else can. Feeling and looking our best is so important, yet it doesn’t come without a price, and when talking about oral health or oral hygiene the price is effort, understanding, and responsibility.

Benefits of Good Oral Health and Oral Hygiene

If we want the benefits of good oral health, we have to be willing to practice and maintain a healthy oral hygiene. This means brushing, flossing, and maintaining a good relationship with our dentist. That’s right, in the world of good oral health and hygiene, there are two players, you and your dentist.

Your dentist is the oral health professional responsible for examining, repairing, and maintaining you mouth, teeth, and gums. Your dentist is also your oral hygiene expert that is responsible for guiding you in your daily oral hygiene efforts so as to ensure you maintain good oral health now and for the rest of your life.

Oral Health and your Dentist

Your dentist is there to help in every way he/she can in maintaining good oral health and oral hygiene practice, but you must understand that you too play an equally, if not more, active roll. It is up to you to take responsibility for your oral health through the daily practice of healthy oral hygiene and it’s up to you to visit your dentist on a regular basis.
What your oral health profession (dentist) will do for you

Understand that your dentist is your oral health professional, and as such it is his/her job to recognize oral health and oral hygiene issues and things that you cannot. Your dentist will look for gum disease, cavities, evidence of tooth decay around old fillings or veneers, root decay or decay under the gum line, mouth infections, periodontal pockets caused by gum disease and a host of other oral health problems.

Signs of Poor Oral Health and Oral Hygiene

Your oral health professional is also trained to recognize signs of poor general health as reflected by your oral health and oral hygiene. He or she is trained to identify the oral manifestations of such conditions and can refer you to other health professionals for treatment. Many serious conditions have been identified first by an oral health care professional thus allowing for early intervention and preventing a worsening of the state of the patient involved.

Ultimately your Oral Health is Your Responsibility...

Neglect is the keyword to good oral health and oral hygiene. Neglecting daily oral hygiene is what leads to poor oral health and can even lead to a host of other problems. In fact, neglect is the only thing really that can lead to poor oral health. This is solely your responsibility and is the part you play in maintaining the practice of healthy oral hygiene and good oral health.

You have to understand the oral health benefits of having regular checkups. Everybody needs regular preventive checkups by their oral health professional (dentist) no matter whom you are. It doesn’t matter how good your oral hygiene is on a daily basis, meaning how well you brush and floss your teeth, you still need to see your oral health professional from time to time.

It’s during these regular oral health checkups that your dentist has the opportunity to view the results of your daily oral hygiene (your oral health), and then guide you more efficiently on how to improve it. These oral health checkups also provide your oral health professional the opportunity to clean your teeth professionally, which is an important part of any good oral hygiene strategy. Professional teeth cleaning allows the dentist to remove the built up tartar from the surface of your teeth, thus preventing gum disease, removing stains, and simply making your teeth whiter and your smile wider!

It is also essential that, during these regular visits, you talk to your dentist or oral hygiene professional. Include in this conversation even any problems or issues that in your mind probably have nothing to do with your oral health or oral hygiene. The fact is, there might be a connection as impossible as it may seem. Information about medication you may be taking or about your health in general may seem insignificant, but they are not. Talk to your dentist about anything that concerns you, it helps build and maintain a good working dentist-patient relationship, it makes your oral health checkup more pleasant, and it may result in the discovery of an underlying oral health problem or issue you were unaware.

Nutrition and Oral Health

Nutrition is another, often over looked area that can have an important impact on your oral health. It is important at any age to keep a balanced diet if you want to reap the rewards of good oral health. No food is harmful in itself if a good balance is maintained.

Lean meat, fish, poultry and beans provide iron and protein for overall good oral health, and magnesium and zinc for strong teeth and bones. Dairy products provide calcium and vitamin D for your teeth and bones. Bread and cereal supply vitamin B for growth and iron for healthy blood, which in turn contributes to healthy gum tissue and overall good oral health. Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of vitamins, such as vitamin C, which is essential for good gum and oral health.

Dentist Directory - Find a Dentist - Family Dentist
Let the Online Dentist Directory Help you Find a Family Dentist Near You!

Online Dentist Directory © 2003