When you think about your health, you are most likely to think about diet and exercise as the most important aspects of keeping fit. Of course, eating the right foods and exercising your heart and muscles will help to ensure that you live a long and happy life, but dental care is also an important factor in your overall health and wellbeing. Indeed, poor oral health can have a serious impact on your quality of life as oral pain, missing teeth, infections, and other dental problems can influence not only what you eat but even how you socialize. As such, taking care of your teeth can have a broader effect on your mental and physical health.

Recent research suggests there are strong links between oral health with a wide range of disease from diabetes and heart disease to stroke and respiratory problems. Gum disease and other dental issues can exacerbate health problems, and while we are just beginning to understand the correlation between health teeth and a healthy body, one thing is certain, like other diseases, oral health problems must be treated professionally. Taking care of your teeth helps to prevent chronic infections that will inevitably lead to tooth decay, gum disease, oral pain, and missing teeth.

When it comes to maintaining your oral health, there are 5 steps that should not be overlooked. Regular dental visits, proper tooth cleaning, a healthy diet, vigilance, and avoidance of tobacco products can help you keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Visit the Dentist

Regular dental visits are one of the key components to maintaining a healthy mouth. Dentists can not only track the signs of oral disease and help you understand the behaviours that will prevent future dental problems, but they also provide professional cleaning services that can stop oral disease before it starts. Oral disease can often go unnoticed because warning signs may not be clear to the layperson. In fact, early signs of dental problems including receding gum lines are not often associated with noticeable symptoms. However, your dentist knows what to look for. He or she will also be careful to check for dental health problems that may be associated with more serious health problems. Remember, a qualified dentist has the skills, training, and expertise to treat infections and gum disease so that you can avoid losing teeth and more serious issues.

Obviously, dental visits are just one element of complete oral care. In part 2 of this article, we will discuss what you can do at home to make sure that your dental visits go smoothly. Healthy behaviours can help you avoid the need for expensive and sometimes painful dental procedures; after all, maintaining your health, whether you are talking about dental health or not, starts at home.