Everybody wants to have a beautiful smile. This is commonly achieved with a beautiful set of pearly white and straight teeth, along with a thorough oral health regime. For this reason, people as young as 10 years old are reaching out to their orthodontists for braces. Aside from having a beautiful smile, keeping your teeth healthy has other positive side effects. This is why it is important to make sure to brush your teeth after eating. Read on to learn the benefits of keeping your teeth healthy:
- Good oral hygiene helps prevent dental problems like plaque, tartar, tooth decay, and gum diseases.
- Diseases in the mouth are associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. If you are suffering from either of these, it may be a sign something is wrong in other systems of your body. Therefor, it is important to take care of your teeth to avoid the risk of getting these diseases.
- According to an American journal, older adults who regularly undergo dental treatments have lesser chance of suffering from heart attack than those who follow a less stringent oral hygiene regimen. Also, based on the same study, regular visits to the dentist decrease your chances of suffering from stroke.
- Brushing your teeth at least twice a day helps prevent gum diseases.
- If you suffer from oral infections and diseases, there is a greater risk you will suffer from respiratory diseases, including pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This is because bacteria from the throat travel to the lower respiratory tract. Brush your teeth regularly to prevent the buildup of bacteria.
- For those who are pregnant, having a good dental hygiene can contribute to a healthy pregnancy.
- When you brush your teeth after each meal, you signal to your brain mealtime is over. Thus, it prevents you from consuming more calories and helps you ward off mindless eating.
- Aside from warding off oral infections, brushing your teeth can lessen the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
As you can see, regular brushing and cleaning your teeth does not only help keep your teeth and gums healthy. Good oral hygiene is also important because it reflects on your overall health condition. Therefor, it is important to learn good dental hygiene early on in life. Children should be taught good oral hygiene as early as possible. Brush your teeth regularly, avoid food that may contribute to tooth decay and pay a visit to your dentist at least twice a year.
Written by Dr. Darren Wittenberger, the best orthodontist Columbia MO has to offer, and owner of his own practice, Advance Orthodontics. Dr. Wittenberger enjoys sharing his expertise to ensure people can maintain the healthiest, straightest teeth possible!