You teeth matter, and so does the overall health of your mouth. It doesn’t matter what age you are, dental care is important, and an unhealthy mouth could be a sign of other health issues. An unhealthy mouth can also lead to other health issues.

It’s really not that difficult to take care of your mouth, and your teeth. It’s really as simple as eating healthy, brushing your teeth twice a day minimum, flossing daily, and visiting your dentist on a regular basis.

Baby Teeth

While you won’t be caring for your baby’s first teeth the same way you would your own teeth, they still are important and need to be taken care of. You’ll want to use a soft bristled toothbrush with a small head on their little teeth as soon as they start coming in.

It will be around the age of six that your child will be able to brush their own teeth. You want to wait until they have developed enough coordination so that they don’t hurt themselves. Discuss with your doctor the best toothpastes to use at different ages.

Adult Teeth

Once your adult teeth come in it will be even more important to take care of them, because they are the last set of real teeth you have. You will want to make sure you get regular checkups so you can know early on when you are getting cavities or when your wisdom teeth start moving in.

Don’t wait until it is too late to get cavities dealt with. A filling is less work than a root canal, and a root canal beats missing teeth. Getting regular dental x rays can make a huge difference in detection.

Pregnancy

Speaking of cavities, gum disease and cavities can actually have a negative effect on growing babies inside their pregnant mothers. This is just one more reason why dental health is so important. Your mouth is connected to the rest of your body and can have either a good effect on it, because of proper care, or a bad one.

Seniors

If you’re lucky enough to reach your senior years with all of your natural teeth, good for you. If not, your false teeth and dentures also need care. While they aren’t going to get cavities, they can still cause issues with your gums, and your health, if you aren’t properly cleaning them.

If you aren’t sure how you should be cleaning your particular type of false teeth, just ask your dental professional and they will let you know.

It’s better to be safe, when it comes to dental care, than to be sorry when you break a tooth or have to have one pulled. Brush twice a day, minimum, for two minutes at a time. Floss daily, even when it seems inconvenient. And make sure you see your dentist at least once a year.

Originally posted on February 25, 2016 @ 3:53 pm