The two most important aspects of keeping your smile healthy on a consistent basis or keeping up with good dental hygiene consistently and sticking to a regular schedule of preventive dental visits. However, sometimes, it can be easy to forget how intricately connected both of these aspects are. If you slack in your dental hygiene routine at home, it can make your preventive dental care efforts less successful long-term, and can lead to a need for more extensive dental treatment before long.
Prevention includes fighting oral bacteria
Preventive dental care sounds professional, and the regular schedule of checkups and cleanings you should attend are an important part of it. However, preventive care also includes the consistent cleaning of your teeth and gums at home. Brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing at least once don’t just keep your teeth attractive, but also helps control the buildup of potentially harmfully oral bacteria on your teeth and along your gum line. This slows or prevents the formation of tartar, or calcified dental plaque, and the risks of tooth decay, gum disease, and more that can result from it.
Consistent hygiene lowers your risks of serious concerns
Some of the most severe oral health concerns that you might experience, including tooth loss, can result from conditions that develop when oral bacteria accumulate excessively. For instance, when they erode your tooth enamel and infect your tooth structure, the resulting decay can progressively destroy your healthy, natural tooth structure, as well as its nerves, tissues, and blood vessels. If oral bacteria accumulate underneath your gums, they can lead to the development of gum disease and the continuous erosion of your gum tissues.
It can also help you avoid the need for treatment
When you slack in your dental hygiene routine enough for oral bacteria to lead to problems, the specific problem that develops will have to be addressed with personalized treatment in order to protect your smile. Restorative treatment may be required to remove decay from your tooth and restore its health and integrity. Gum disease treatment may be necessary to control its progression and reduce your risks of losing one or more teeth to it. The most effective way to avoid the need for more extensive treatment later is to prevent the development of such concerns with consistently good dental hygiene and preventive dental care.
Learn more about good dental hygiene
Good dental hygiene is an important aspect of preventing more serious dental health complications from arising. To learn more, schedule an appointment or initial consultation by calling Advanced Dental Concepts in Auburn Hills, MI, today at (248) 852-1820.
