Many people believe that when it comes to dental care, the number one cause of losing teeth is due to decay, even in your adult years.
While this is a factor, the leading cause of tooth loss for most adults is untreated gum disease, which destroys bone tissue, ligaments and gums, causing teeth to fall out.
At Kings Dental Subiaco our team is always eager to teach our patients about the right ways to keep their teeth and gums healthy, so we can advise you on how to keep tooth decay and gum disease at bay.
In the following article, our team at Kings Dental Subiaco, your dentist in Subiaco, discusses key ways that you and your family can prevent gum disease. So read on to learn more.
Floss!
Our team at Kings Dental Subiaco is a big fan of flossing.
Why? Because even if it is one once a day, this simple technique can remove food debris and plaque in areas of your mouth that even your electric toothbrush can’t reach. Just be careful with your technique, as you may hurt your gums if you are too rough!
Attend checkups
Ah, yes, the often dreaded dental checkup, which can be a key step in preventing gum disease.
Our dentist in Subiaco is trained to spot the signs of gum disease, and if necessary, we will aim to offer preventive treatments at the earliest stage, such as higher fluoride toothpaste, information on flossing and a scale-and-polish referral if needed.
If you are suffering from a more advanced case of gum disease, we can also prescribe mouthwash, which will help to destroy the bacteria responsible for periodontal issues.
See our hygienist
Gum disease can be hard to prevent at home if you are genetically susceptible to it. Therefore, we recommend that those who have a history of gum disease book an appointment with our hygienist at least once a year for a scale-and-polish.
This will help to remove the offending plaque and keep your gums in top-notch condition.
Stop smoking
Smoking is bad for your general health, and countless dental studies have linked smoking cigarettes to the onset of gum disease.
Smoking exposes your mouth to an array of toxins that are not found in the normal environment, and as this also weakens your immune system, it is harder for your body to fight off any associated gum disorders.
Thanks to the toxins in cigarette smoke, it is also harder for your gums to recover if they have succumbed to gum disease. Yikes!
Use an electric toothbrush
You may have seen adverts advising dental patients to use electric toothbrushes over manual ones, and you may be wondering why this is deemed important.
Well, in short, using a battery-powered toothbrush will expose your teeth to a deeper clean than you could achieve on your own by brushing manually, and these kinds of toothbrushes are better equipped to remove plaque. You can even purchase toothbrushes that have different brush settings, so you can opt for deeper brushes after a day of eating soft foods and a lighter brush on days when your teeth don’t feel so rough.
Electric toothbrushes are also better at removing stains, so you can save a bit of money on whitening!
DISCLAIMER
All treatment carries risks. Individual consultation is required with one of our practitioners to ensure that the treatment is right for you.