Oral Health is Imperative to Overall Wellness

Part of having a healthy body is having and maintaining oral health. Without proper dental health, a variety of health concerns can pop up. If you don’t already have a quality dentist in PA, find one immediately, get a check-up and start out on the road to good oral health.

Bad Breath

The most obvious drawback of not having good oral health is having bad breath. Not only is it embarrassing, but chronic bad breath may also be the symptom of an even bigger dental problem. The foods you eat, smoking, dry mouth, gingivitis, and gum disease are all contributors to halitosis.

Eating for Teeth Health

Many people don’t realize that diet can have a huge effect on teeth. The best foods for your teeth contain both phosphorous and calcium, like cheese, milk, nuts, and chicken. Firm and crunch fruit, like apples and pear, have a lot of water in them, which helps to dilute the fruit’s sugars, which, in turn, prevents decay.

Hard and sticky candies are among the worst types of foods for your teeth since they stick to your teeth and end up breaking down tooth enamel. Sugary drinks and a high amount of acidic food aren’t good options either.

Oral Cavities

Cavities are the result of tooth decay, which is the destruction of a tooth. Both children and adults can have cavities. There are ten main reasons for getting cavities:

1. Eating foods that have carbohydrates, like candy, cereal, and milk. When acid, bacteria and saliva combine, plaque forms. This plaque then sticks to your teeth, cutting through the enamel and causing cavities.
2. When your gums recess, gum disease, and cavities can occur, primarily because your teeth’s roots are more exposed to plaque.
3. A sudden change in eating habits.
4. Older fillings break down, causing decay and letting bacteria get into the tooth.
5. Not brushing after meals. Plaque starts to form on teeth as soon as twenty minutes after eating.
6. Sticky foods that adhere to the teeth.
7. Smoking, which inhibits plaque build-up.
8. Snacking can cause cavities because the more you eat, the more opportunities there are for acid to get on your teeth.
9. Not flossing regularly can lead to cavities. Brushing alone can’t reach all of the places in between your teeth that flossing can.
10. Not visiting the dentist on a regular basis to have hardened plaque removed.

Wisdom Teeth Removal

Most teenagers dread their wisdom teeth coming in because it often means having to have them pulled. While some people get through their entire lives without their wisdom teeth causing any problems, others have to have theirs taken out at the first sign of trouble. The two biggest problems that can occur when wisdom teeth start coming in are:

1. Wisdom teeth can be angled the wrong way.
2. Wisdom teeth don’t always break through the gum line.

When either of these problems occurs, debris and bacteria might build up and cause serious infections. At this point, the infection has to be treated first and then the teeth usually have to be removed.