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Why is Oral Hygiene Important?

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Oral hygiene is the total care of your mouth. It includes your dental care and the well-being of your entire oral system. It is the process of keeping the mouth clean, foul odor free, keeping the teeth strong and germ-free. Brushing your teeth twice a day on a regular basis is very important. It helps in preventing oral and dental diseases. There are numerous dental diseases which can harm the health of teeth. Some of the common dental diseases are cavities or tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontitis and gum diseases.

Drescher & Cohen DDS is a dental care unit. Improper oral care or poor oral health derives from poor oral hygiene. Brushing your teeth twice a day is very important. The appropriate time is once in the morning when you wake up and once at night, just before going off to bed. Flossing or inter-dental cleaning is also important as the toothbrush cannot reach all the corners of your teeth. It helps in cleaning the small spaces in-between your teeth.

Dental Care and Oral Hygiene

Proper dental care is the most important part of oral hygiene. Most oral conditions develop due to poor dental care. Tooth decay or cavities are the most common condition detected across the globe. More than 80% cases of cavities are caused due to improper brushing pattern. As the toothbrush cannot reach all the small spots inside the mouth, it cannot clean them too. Small particles or pieces of food get trapped in those parts and cavities develop. The fluoride and saliva inside the mouth are also unable to reach those parts and as a result, they cannot get access to the neutralizing acid.

Regular dental care or cleaning of teeth helps in removing tartar and plaque from teeth. This, in turn, prevents the formation of cavities, tooth decay, gingivitis and gum diseases. 1/3rd of adult tooth loss is caused due to severe gum diseases. Digging down into history, it has been discovered that teeth cleaning is an old technique of keeping the teeth clean. Previously humanly used tree twigs, chew sticks, porcupine quills, bird feathers and animal bones for cleaning teeth. In the history of Indian medicine, Neem tree has been noted as an ayurvedic remedy for dental ailments. The Neem tree twigs were used to clean teeth. It is still used to clean teeth in some villages of India. The neem twigs have an uncanny resemblance with the bristles of a toothbrush. It is also considered that the Miswak or Siwak has antiseptic properties and is good for the dental health. Baking Soda is also known as a remedy to maintain the dental health. To restrict the decay of teeth, the dental sealant is one great procedure. It is applied for to cover the grooves and protect the fissures in the surface of back teeth. It prevents food particles from getting trapped and eliminated the decaying process of your tooth.

Tips to take dental care

According to recent studies carried out by the Australian Healthcare and Hospital Association’s (AHHA), dental check-ups must be conducted after every 3 years span for adults and after 1-2 years span for children. Frequent visit to a dentist is a good habit, once in every 6 months can be helpful for you to maintain great dental health. Getting professional support allows you to have tooth scaling, debridement followed by fluoride cure and polishing. The ADHA or American Dental Hygienists’ Association suggests that only scaling and polishing might not be adequate as they offer therapeutic values. Cleaning under the gums is equally important and must be done.