Even with the large variety of cosmetic dentistry procedures that are available today, the fact remains that keeping up with your new smile starts with you! The idea behind having a beautiful smile is ensuring that you are able to show it off for years to come. However, if you are not up-to-par on your oral health and proper oral hygiene, chances are that your flawless smile could easily become full of imperfections. A new, bright and shiny smile requires proper care on a daily basis.
While our teeth naturally deteriorate, and while we cannot completely avoid normal wear and tear, practicing proper oral hygiene will help to keep your smile looking lovely. You may have heard the saying “A beautiful smile is a healthy smile” once before, and it’s the truth. Not only is it important to practice daily brushing and flossing, it’s also helpful to be aware of the after effects of certain foods we eat and things we drink. Certain habits that many people practice also play a role in how healthy his/her teeth are.
Studies have shown that certain beverages are more prone to cause teeth staining, especially red wine and coffee. At the same time, other beverages that are highly acidic may not stain the teeth, but they can cause a higher amount of enamel loss. While losing a certain amount of enamel over time is a natural phenomenon, drinking highly acidic beverages can speed up enamel loss, especially if you don’t brush on a daily basis.
Besides highly acidic drinks, alcohol consumption also plays a role in how healthy, or unhealthy, your smile is. If you have ever consumed a large amount of alcohol in one sitting, you probably know that it causes dehydration. A common side effect of dehydration is a dry mouth. Though it doesn’t sound like a problem to be worried about, having a dry mouth provides for the ideal location for germs and bacteria to grow and multiply. This explains why, after a heavy night of drinking not only do people feel terrible, but their breath usually isn’t too pleasant either.
The food we eat impacts the health of our smiles as well. Foods that are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates make the mouth more susceptible to gum infections and tooth decay. This is why patients are told to limit, if not avoid, eating high amounts of candy and other sugary treats. Candy and other foods high in sugar generally stay stuck on the teeth for a longer period of time. The left over particles then become the perfect source for acid-producing bacteria to flourish, spread, and erode the enamel on the teeth.
Habits – Lifestyle Choices and Their Impact on Our Teeth
Everyone has a certain habit but some habits are much more damaging than others. Take for instance tobacco use. Both chewing and smoking tobacco have proven to wreck havoc on our bodies. Not only can this habit cause tooth decay and teeth discoloration, it has also been linked to a higher chance of developing lung, mouth, and/or throat cancer. This is because tobacco, mainly in the form of cigarettes, is loaded with harmful elements such as tar.
Your oral hygiene habits also determine the health of your smile. Generally we are told to brush and floss after every meal. Most people don’t brush after eating throughout the day. In most cases, we brush our teeth once or twice a day, which has proven to be satisfactory. However, those who neglect brushing and flossing on a routine basis are at a higher risk of suffering from poor oral health.
Patients should remember that poor oral health effects us in many different ways. It can certainly ruin your teeth, even teeth that have been restored by a cosmetic dentist, but there are other consequences as well. Having an unhealthy smile also impacts the overall health of our bodies. If you neglect your oral health, you’re at a higher risk of suffering from undetected oral cancer, and developing conditions such as osteoporosis, stroke, heart disease, and other cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. We don’t typically connect having poor oral health with a heart problem but patients should be aware that our mouths are indeed connected to the rest of our bodies.
Do you want to make sure that your smile is healthy? If so Dr. Dunayer can help! Dr. Dunayer has treated patients of all types, even those who have avoided going to a dentist for years and are suffering from numerous problems. In the end you’ll be able to leave our office on the path to a brighter, whiter, and most importantly, a healthier smile. Contact us today!
