Oral Care Is Essential Healthcare
When you think about the things you do to stay healthy, what comes to mind? Eating right, exercising, visiting your primary care doctor for an annual checkup? What about visiting the dentist? Many people have learned that routine dental care is optional, and they only visit the dentist when there’s a problem. We want you to understand that oral health care is essential to keeping your mouth and body healthy and should be part of your healthcare routine.
Keep reading to learn why it is so important.
Your Body Includes Your Mouth
You’re taking care of your body every day when you choose healthy foods, drink water, and exercise. You probably have a primary care physician you see once or twice a year for a physical to ensure your body is functioning properly and there’s no sign of underlying disease. But that doctor doesn’t thoroughly examine your teeth or mouth. In fact, if you were to tell your PCP your gums bleed when you brush your teeth, they’d tell you to see your dentist.
Your mouth is also part of your body, just like your ears, arms, and knees. You take care of it daily when you brush and floss to prevent cavities and gum disease. That is essential healthcare and so is visiting the dentist for routine hygiene examinations and cleanings. Not including dental visits as part of your overall healthcare routine can put your health at risk, and here’s why:
- An infection in your mouth can worsen without treatment, enter your bloodstream, and move to another part of your body, possibly ending up in your heart or another vital organ
- A diseased tooth can be painful, causing you to alter your eating habits and diet, ultimately affecting your nutrition
- Tooth decay will not heal on its own but spread throughout the tooth, eventually causing it to crack, break, or fall out
- When not replaced, a missing tooth will cause your jawbone to weaken over time and often leads to other teeth becoming diseased or loose
- Gum disease is painless in the early stages and difficult to detect without a dental exam—left untreated long enough, it will progress into a serious infection, which may lead to tooth loss
Visiting your dentist every four to six months for an examination of your teeth and mouth can prevent all of these issues.
Routine Exams Keep Your Mouth & Body Healthy
If you’ve been putting off routine dental appointments, we urge you to call our office to schedule one as soon as possible. Not all oral health diseases have obvious visible signs, meaning they are only detectable with close examination or X-ray imaging. Beyond that, routine dental exams twice a year are essential to an effective oral care routine since brushing and flossing alone can’t remove all plaque, no matter how thorough you are. Only a dentist’s expertise and special tools can do that.
Oral Health Is Essential Health
Think about everything your mouth does. It allows you to eat and speak. It helps you breathe and fight disease — all vital for your overall health. A healthy mouth means better overall well-being because you can enjoy the full function of your teeth and bite and a wide variety of foods for optimal nutrition. It also lowers your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other systemic infections.
When you look at yourself in the mirror, we hope you see a happy, healthy person smiling back at you, and we are here to help it stay that way. If you’re due for an exam and cleaning or it’s time to schedule exams and cleanings for your children, contact our office in Spring Hill, FL today for an appointment. We’re always happy to hear from you!
