Many people do not prioritize their oral health until and unless there are problems. When dental pain or damage occurs, you need the correct information rapidly. But proper oral health education is not for emergencies. Look at why you should have the basic knowledge of oral health.

Oral health impacts your body: Oral health affects your gums, teeth, and whole body. Existing dental issues can highly influence the quality of your life. Dental problems interfere with how you talk, eat, and drink. In addition, cavities and other dental issues can also lead to consistent pain. Sometimes some harmless dental problems such as yellow teeth also affect your confidence.

Regrettably, some dental issues can also cause serious complications. Such as the oral bacteria present in your mouth can quickly enter the bloodstream and lead to heart diseases, blocked arteries, and other cardiovascular issues.

Importance of oral health education?

Oral health education transmits knowledge, lets people know about the various aspects of tooth disease/decay, and provides ways and possibilities for disease prevention and adequate treatment. According to a study, around 20% of children aged 5-11 suffer from cavities. Educating them on the necessity of proper nutrition, dental checkups, proper and regular oral hygiene, and the use of fluoride can prohibit these conditions while benefiting in the long term. Let’s see them in detail:

Carbohydrates: Frequent intake of carbohydrates is directly related to causing caries. Carbohydrates promote bacterial growth in your mouth. So, it's recommended to minimize glucose from nutrition components and advise parents and children to take them only with regular meals.

Oral hygiene: Establishing and maintaining proper oral hygiene is an essential prophylactic measure to prevent oral and dental diseases; educating as many people as possible about oral hygiene effectiveness and developing the habits of regular oral hygiene maintenance in the youngest children is required. 

Fluoride prevention: Fluoride is the most efficient anticaries agent for dental pathology prevention. The anticaries efficacy of fluoride results from the cumulative effect of several different mechanisms. Each dental hygiene program must include fluoride preventive aspects as a prophylactic measure. 

Children under six years old can brush their teeth independently but under the supervision of adults. Kids should not make use of a lot of toothpaste. Just a pea-sized toothpaste is perfect. Also, ensure your child is spitting out the toothpaste after brushing their teeth rather than swallowing it.

It's good to schedule your child's first oral visit between the age of one and two. Regular and timely visits will assist your child in becoming comfortable at the dental clinic. In addition, they will also learn about the proper oral care methods. Therefore, starting oral health education as early as possible is very important.

Here are a few basic things about oral health

• Brushing teeth, flossing, and timely dental health checkups are three major pillars of everlasting dental health.
• While brushing, always follow the rule "two and two," which means while brushing your teeth, you must brush your teeth at least two minutes twice a day. Brush your teeth in the morning when you wake up and then in the nighttime while going to bed. Brushing your teeth after every meal is perfect, but the two-two rule is everyday minimum.
• Replace your toothbrush every three months. When your bristles become dull, they will not remove the debris efficiently. Moreover, after using a brush for about three months, bacteria start building up in the meeting.
• Floss your teeth once every 24 hours. You can do flossing either before or after brushing – both ways are perfect. Bacteria get accumulated around teeth daily. Flossing assists in breaking up the bacteria and prohibits them from getting formed as colonies.

When should you see a dentist?

It is good to visit your dentist every six months. This offers your dentist an excellent opportunity to properly check your dental health. Based on the overall risk of dental issues, your dentist will want to check you more or sometimes less throughout the year.

After checking, your dentist might also refer you to other dental professionals. For example, if you have gum issues, then you might require to see a periodontist, or if your teeth appear crooked or are misaligned or missing or crowded, then visiting your Dentist might help.

Other than regular checkups, you should also visit a dentist when there are specific dental issues, such as

• A specified and localized pain in one or more teeth
• Pain all through your mouth
• When your teeth have white spots
• Bleeding after you brush your teeth
• Any cracks in your teeth
• Teeth sensitivity to warm and cold foods as well as drinks.

Your oral health issues are not like cuts on your finger or bruises in your leg which can repair themselves. You should check with your dentist when you see any problems with your dental health. It is easier and inexpensive to fix minor issues than ones that have been allowed to grow with time. MyDentalPlan is one platform that gives you access to several skilled dentists who can assist you with your oral health problems.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About the Author:

Suprithi Choudhary, M.Pharm (Pharmacology) Medical Content writer

Suprithi is a Pharma Professional working as a medical content writer and previously worked as a Research Scientist and Senior Research Analyst

Education

• C.M Academy
• Attended the Panjab University- Chandigarh, Pharma post-graduate in Pharmacology

Special thanks to Dr Deepak Kulkarni, a dental surgeon with over 23 years of experience who proofread this blog. He graduated from the H.K.E's Dental College, Gulbarga, and has certifications in ACHS International Accreditation Education Plan; Advanced Rotary Endodontic - Restorative Continuum; and Leadership, Team Building and Customer Service Leadership from the Oscar Murphy International.