Children and adults have real struggles with tooth decay. Close to 100 percent of adults are suffering from some kind of dental issue. A total of 60 to 90 percent of school-age children have cavities. How can so many people be afflicted by dental problems? The truth is in the numbers. Because there are many ways your pearly whites can undergo stress via daily or frequent habits, you are more likely to deal with tooth decay. How do you stop the dental disaster? Know what to avoid!
Stop the Hurting Before it Starts
Give your smile a fighting chance. Prevention is the key ingredient to ensuring you have healthy gums and teeth. You and your teeth deserve longevity. Acknowledging and applying the usefulness of the expression “everything in moderation” enables you to protect what is important to you, your quality of life.
Here are 5 ways your teeth may be undergoing unintentional damage:
1. A stressful daily life.
While many say that grinding your teeth or bruxism is the cause of tooth decay, stress and anger are more likely to be the catalyst. Chipping, sensitivity, worn away enamel, these are results that can occur when stress or frustration is an ever-present part of your life.
2. Too much acidity
For many imbibing is a pleasant past time, but whether your drink of choice is wine or orange juice, the acidity level in the liquid can actually dissolve the delicate structure of your teeth. There is still hope for your teeth yet though. Sip your drink instead of gulping and make sure you rinse your teeth with water after indulging. Avoid constant contact acid to teeth, don’t swish but do rinse (with water).
3. Fluoride-less Bottled Water
This fact is a bit a surprising but true. Good oral health requires a certain amount of fluoride in your drinking water. The bottled variety has less than the recommended amount. Prevention of decay correlates with actions you partake in that strengthens the teeth that undergo damage from various causes. Tap water typically has fluoride in it. So water out of your faucet may be better than the water in your bottle!
4. Medication and/or Dry Mouth
Often medications you take to stay healthy or reduce pain can cause side effects like dry mouth. Dry mouth in itself is off-putting, but add to it the fact that it reduces bacteria-neutralizing saliva, it is also teeth altering. Sugarless gum, drinking (fluoride containing) water and artificial saliva substitutes may be a good way to combat the negative effects of dry mouth on a healthy smile.
5. Getting Slim
Not surprisingly getting fit is important to many people. But it–when done via dieting like other things can be harmful to your teeth. Less than stellar eating habits, lack of vitamins or health problems that ensure you avoid certain nutrients to keep you pain-free can quickly turn a gleaming smile upside down when your teeth start suffering. Certain nutrients are needed to build up your immune system, without them, you can become prone to infection. Troubling mouth issues like periodontal disease can be a painful result of nutrient-lacking diet.
Monitor to Maintain
Maintaining your teeth health is vital to your overall quality of living. Your smile should be 100 percent genuine. And if you know what to avoid while also doing routine cleanings to keep your teeth gleaming, your happy grin will serve you well for years to come!