Maintaining proper oral health can do a lot more than keep your teeth white. In fact, the effects of good or bad hygiene habits goes a lot deeper than the surface.
Upshots of Staying Healthy
Keeping good oral health & a proper diet do a lot for your jawbone. While calcium is a well known nutrient in keeping up bone health, preventing the bad from coming in is important too.
Brushing, flossing & using mouthwash regularly helps remove harmful plaque that not only harm teeth, but get under gums & can actually reduce your bone density in your jaw. Regularly removing this plaque is necessary to prevent this, especially as our diets are more & more often filled with refined sugars & processed foods our bodies weren’t evolved to take in.
Not only this, but keeping your mouth clean helps prevent infection from harmful bacteria, which can spread to your jaw & beyond, potentially making you sick. Your mouth is its own biome & its homeostasis—as the most exposed orifice in your body—is important to maintain. No one is perfect, though, & even then the unexpected can happen. So listen to your body & learn the signs of when things aren’t normal.
It’s also critical to visit your dentist regularly for hygiene appointments. Getting your teeth cleaned regularly is a great way to reset the buildup of plaque in your mouth & allows your brushing to still have its maximum effect. For most people, this means going every six months.
What to Do If Things Get Worse
Sometimes bad habits can allow for the buildup of plaque. For others, there may be a genetic disposition for weak bone strength. Whatever the reason, just because you’re experiencing bone loss in your jaw doesn’t mean you should give up.
Most people experiencing this issue have what is called periodontitis. More commonly, this is known as gum disease, though it affects far more than your gums. It can cause accelerated tooth decay & deteriorate bone.
The solution? Going in for a deep cleaning. These teeth cleanings are similar to regular cleanings but as the name suggests, go deeper, reaching under the gum line & ensuring the harmful materials there are removed. This is usually done about as regularly & in place of cleanings.
Talk to your dentist about the benefits of deep cleanings & if they are right for you. As with many aspects of our health, prevention is key, so no matter where your oral health is at, building up a good hygiene habit will help ensure harmful plaque doesn’t.
Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332224008795
https://connect.aaid-implant.org/blog/missing-teeth-face-jawbone