SavingSmiles

Why Regular Hygiene Appointments Are Important for Your Overall Health

Remember the saying, “A stitch in time saves nine!”?

It’s certainly true when it comes to your teeth, gums and overall health.

When it comes to preventative dental care, most visits are centred around routine professional teeth cleaning.

No matter how great you are at brushing and flossing, there will usually be a little bit of plaque left behind. Whether it be just under the gum line or between your teeth, or perhaps around a restoration that’s hard to reach (like a dental bridge) there will be certain areas of your mouth that tartar more naturally builds up.

Only dental professionals are able to reach and remove the plaque and tartar buildup under your gums. Special tools are needed to remove the deposit without damaging the delicate gum tissues next to it. The more routinely your teeth are cleaned, the less buildup there is from visit to visit.

Even if you don’t have overall health problems, it’s worth it to have your teeth cleaned and examined regularly. Why? Because preventative dental care reduces your chances of needing more costly treatments later. Prevention pays off in more ways than one.

Your mouth is, as they say, the window to the rest of your body. So, having it looked after professionally and cleaned on a regular basis can benefit your overall wellness!

You can give your body and immune system the head start that it needs to better manage secondary problems and be less susceptible to other medical issues.

How Does Oral Health Affect Overall Health?

 

Bacteria inside of dental plaque and calculus (tartar) has the potential to spread from your mouth into the blood vessels around your teeth — especially when the tissues are infected from gum disease. When that happens, our immune system responds, and we experience a higher level of inflammation inside of our bodies.

Straining our immune system makes it more difficult to fight off other health conditions. The mouth and body are not two separate beings.

Rather, they’re interconnected and should be thought of as such.

Just like a balanced diet, exercise, and regular checkups with your primary care physician help you to stay healthy, routine preventative dental care helps you reduce excessive presence of harmful bacteria inside your mouth.

Dental cleaning visits are preventative by nature. They’re ideal for helping you avoid the development of common dental diseases like cavities and periodontitis.

To keep your smile healthy, it is recommended to see your dentist for routine exams and cleanings. For many people who properly practice oral hygiene, that would be every 6-9 months, while others, every 3 or 4 months, if they suffer from periodontal disease or poor dental hygiene practice.

If it’s been a while since your last dental checkup, call Saving Smiles to schedule an appointment with one of our dentists and our friendly dental team.