It may sound a little dramatic to claim that a dentist can completely change your life. After all, who was the last person to dramatically change your life? The last person to give you a pay check? That person who stopped your kid running out into the road? That guy who paid for your coffee ahead of you before you could thank them? These are all great things, don’t get us wrong, but nothing can really compare to giving you your health, and that is exactly what a dentist can do – and so much more than you would ever realize. Believe it or not, recent research has demonstrated that just going to see your dentist once or twice a year could actually save you from heart disease, and an eventual heart attack.
If that sounds a little dramatic . . . well, that is what heart disease can do to you, and there is now a definite link between heart disease and gum disease, though it may seem absolutely crazy. Researchers have found out that the same bacteria that dentists will fight and try to prevent taking up home in a person’s gums is actually the same bacteria that they find in a person’s heart or even lungs that eventually leads to heart attacks – and if a dentist can prevent the bacteria from getting too comfortable in your mouth, then they may just go on to prevent that bacteria from spreading to the rest of your body, including your heart.
It is impossible to tell just how many people’s lives have been saved by excellent dentists through this preventative measures, but other data results don’t lie; hundreds of thousands of people up and down the country will lose a tooth this year because of gum disease, something that can be prevented if only they had taken the proper precautions with their teeth. You may not think that you know anyone who has lost a tooth through gum disease, but that is often because they will immediately receive a dental bridge from their dentist which will completely cover up the fact that they have lost a tooth. However, it cannot remove the risk of gum disease, and only if you and your dentist are constantly vigilant will you be able to be confident that you are not allowing bacteria to set up a home inside of you.
Now that you know all of this, what is the best way to prevent gum disease from becoming much more serious? Well, for a start you should ensure that you are brushing your teeth twice a day, every day, for at least two minutes. By making sure that you are changing your toothbrush regularly – experts suggest every three to four months – you will also ensure that the brushes are hard and getting into all those nooks and crannies. You should also be using floss to get all of that food debris out of the gaps between your teeth, and a mouthwash at the end of it all to sterilise anything that could be dangerous.
If you add to that a visit to a good dentist every six months or so, they you can be confident that you are doing absolutely everything to be able to keep your teeth in a good condition, so that you do not have to worry about tooth loss, dental bridges, or heart disease in the future. It really is not that complicated, and that means that there is no excuse: you only get one set of adult teeth, and it is your responsibility to look after them.
Related: brightondentalsd.com
