How Poor Dental Hygiene Impacts Your Health
Oral health refers to matters that involve the oral cavity of the human anatomy. It often involves a proactive approach that emphasizes proper brushing and flossing, while also visiting one’s dentist at least twice a year for checkups and dental cleanings.
Poor dental hygiene generally involves neglecting one’s oral health. A person with poor oral hygiene may not brush their teeth using the proper technique. For example, they may brush their teeth vigorously, thus causing their gums to recede and the enamel on their teeth to get worn down.
They may not floss their teeth or may floss their teeth in an aggressive and improper manner, thus causing their gums to bleed excessively. They may also consume sugary and acidic foods on a regular basis, which will exacerbate their existing oral health issues.
Oral hygiene is essential in order to help preserve your gums and teeth for a prolonged period of time. Many diseases have been linked to poor oral health, including gingivitis, heart disease, and even certain forms of cancer.
Some symptoms of poor oral health include halitosis, gum bleeding and swelling, tooth sensitivity and/or pain, dental abscesses, trouble breathing, and loose teeth. Here, we will focus on how poor dental hygiene impacts your health.
Different Dental Problems Due to Poor Oral Health
Bad breath is a sign that something is amiss. You may have excess bacteria in your mouth, or may be dealing with tooth decay or rotting food particulates. You can try using mouthwash in order to help eliminate your bad breath.
Gently removing bacteria from your tongue using a tough scraper/cleaner may reduce your halitosis. Brushing and flossing at least twice a day in order to remove plaque may also help lessen bad breath.
Tooth decay is essentially a dental infection that eats away at the affected tooth until a dentist intervenes via a dental filling or root canal.
Advanced tooth decay may render a tooth unsalvageable, thus requiring a full extraction of the infected tooth, followed by the placement of a dental implant in order to prevent your teeth from shifting to try and fill the gap.
Gum disease is also known as gingivitis. It usually begins as a relatively minor problem, with some mild swelling and bleeding reported when the patient brushes or flosses their teeth. Early gum disease can be reversed by brushing and flossing regularly and by visiting your dentist every 6 months for checkups and deep cleaning.
However, untreated gum disease will progress into a serious form of gum disease known as periodontitis. At this stage, the patient will likely need to deal with receding gums, swelling, bone loss, bad breath, dry mouth, shifting and/or protruding teeth, and the possible loss of a few or all of their teeth.
Oral cancer is a form of cancer that involves the oral cavity. It is commonly found in smokers, albeit non-smokers may also develop oral cancer. Signs of oral cancer include a white or red patch in the mouth, unusual mouth sores, ear pain, mouth lumps, and dysphagia.
There is currently no cure for oral cancer, although there are treatments available that can help the patient manage the disease.
Tooth sensitivity can be caused by dental caries or by worn enamel. You may notice some tingling or even pain when you eat or drink foods that are hot or cold, such as eating ice cream or drinking a cold beverage. Please visit your dentist so that they can properly diagnose the cause of your tooth sensitivity.
In some cases, simply switching to a toothpaste that is designed to combat sensitivity (e.g., Sensodyne) will be able to solve the problem.
What are the consequences of dental conditions caused by poor oral hygiene?
The foods that you eat and the beverages that you drink have acids that can damage the naturally occurring enamel on your teeth.
Periodontal disease is a very serious form of gum disease that infects the bones and gums in the mouth and will lead to the eventual loss of one’s teeth. Gingivitis is an early form of gum disease that can be treated and reversed with optimal oral hygiene and dental interventions.
Gingivitis is characterized by gum swelling, bleeding, pain, and redness, and should be investigated by a dentist, periodontist, or oral surgeon.
Tips for Good Oral Health
You should brush your teeth gently, but thoroughly, at least twice a day. Ideally, you should brush after each meal for 2-3 minutes using high-quality toothpaste. You can also scrape bacteria off of your tongue using a tongue cleaner.
An alcohol-free mouthwash can also be used after you have brushed and flossed your teeth, although certain mouthwashes may cause harmless stains to form on your teeth. Such stains can be removed during your next dental cleaning.
You should try to reduce your consumption of sugary foods, such as chocolates, candies, juices, wines, and soda products. Limiting your consumption of alcohol will also help reduce the risk of dental cavities and even oral cancer.
In addition, if you smoke or chew chewing tobacco, then you should stop doing so as soon as possible, as smoking has been linked to oral, lung, and throat cancer, emphysema, heart disease, stroke, bad breath, dry mouth, cavities, gingivitis, and a myriad of other serious and possibly life-threatening diseases.
Regular dental checkups are crucial. You should visit your dentist at least once every 6 months in order to quickly diagnose and treat dental issues while they are still minor. There are a plethora of dental treatments that are available to remedy even the most serious of oral health problems, so do not hesitate to get emergency dental care if you need it.
Closing Thoughts
You should visit your dentist if you are having trouble eating, breathing, speaking, or drinking. Jaw, gum, or tooth pain should not be taken lightly and should be evaluated by a dentist.
Ultimately, good hygienic practices will help prevent many common oral health problems from forming in the first place.