Want an easy way to keep your body in good health? During this National Dental Hygiene Month make it a habit to do the Daily 4: brush, floss, rinse and chew. Science links good oral health care to prevention of endocarditis, an infection of the heart’s inner lining, heart disease, stroke, premature birth and low birth weight among other conditions. Read on and learn more about the benefits of good oral health.
Start Practicing Good Oral Health Care
Celebrate National Dental Hygiene Month this October by doing the Daily 4: brush, floss, rinse and chew. Doing this simple routine every day ensures good oral health care. That’s important why? To keep your smile looking beautiful and maintaining a healthy body.
The American Dental Association and Wrigley Company sponsor the month-long event. The American Dental Hygienists’ Association created an easy way for you to remember the Daily 4 recommendations by allowing you to download a poster to put up over your bathroom sink.
The ADA recommends doing these Daily 4 things to maintain good oral hygiene:
Brush twice daily for two minutes with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Remember to brush your tongue to remove bacteria and keep your breath fresh.
Floss between your teeth once a day to remove plaque that brushing your teeth fails to remove. Plaque eventually hardens into calculus or tartar.
Rinse with mouth wash to help eliminate biofilm and bacteria. Rinsing with a mouth wash without alcohol contributes to the reduction of decay and infection.
Chew sugarless gum for 20 minutes following meals to help prevent tooth decay. This occurs because it increases the flow of saliva, which washes away food and other debris, neutralizes acids produced by bacteria in the mouth and provides disease-fighting substances to the mouth.
Mouth Healthy, Body Healthy
Did you know about 100 to 200 species of bacteria may live in your mouth? Yuck. But people with good oral health care habits have only 1,000 to 100,000 bacteria on each tooth surface. Those who don’t practice good dental habits have between 100 million and 1billion bacteria living on each tooth.
This tidbit becomes important because science links your overall health to your oral hygiene. Good oral health care can prevent endocarditis, an infection of the heart’s inner lining, heart disease, stroke, clogged arteries and periodontitis, a serious gum infection, that can cause premature birth and low birth weight.
Additionally, certain diseases might affect your oral health, including the following.
- Diabetes reduces the body’s resistance to infection, leading gum disease to become more prevalent and severe. Regular periodontal care can improve diabetes control.
- HIV/AIDS patients commonly develop painful oral lesions.
- Osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weak and brittle, might be linked to damage to the bones of the jaw and cause tooth loss.
- Alzheimer’s disease leads to worse oral health as the disease progresses.
Some other conditions found to affect oral health include eating disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, head and neck cancers, and Sjogren’s syndrome, an immune system disorder that causes dry mouth.
Schedule Your Appointment with Orange Beach Family Dentistry Today!
Don’t forget your checkup! Call us today to help you maintain your good oral health care and your good overall health! And, happy dental hygiene month!