“We’ll see you in six months for your next cleaning!” If you’ve been hearing that line from your Ooltewah dentist for as long as you can remember, you might never have stopped to question it. Or perhaps you’re one of those patients who knows they should stick to that six month appointment schedule, but find that life or anxiety gets in the way. Either way, there are several very good reasons why we hope you stick to this teeth cleaning schedule-- and it’s not just because we miss you.

You might wonder why you need to get your teeth cleaned twice a year. After all, there aren’t that many other things you have to do semi-annually-- besides certain sales at the mall, adjusting your clocks for daylight savings time, changing the batteries in your smoke detector, and get your car serviced. But just like those other matters of routine maintenance, your teeth need regular attention, too.

Even if you are a champ about brushing twice a day, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash, you still need a proper cleaning to stay ahead of the plaque that can cause gingivitis and gum disease. Even if you never eat sugary foods and drink fluoridated water, you need to check in and make sure that no periodontal conditions are running rampant in your mouth. We want to see you every six months so that you can hopefully avoid more serious visits, like having to schedule a root canal or a tooth extraction.

Just like you want to change the oil in your car every few thousand miles to keep the engine in peak condition (and to avoid an unexpected trip to the mechanic) we want to give your teeth a tuneup. It’s easy to think that a serious dental condition will never happen to you-- especially if it never has thanks to genetics, good luck, and those regular teeth cleanings we keep on about. But without those semiannual appointments, you could be giving bacteria and plaque many extra months in your mouth, which could make them harder to evict.

If all that gunk really makes itself at home, you could be looking at tooth decay and gum disease. If those conditions progress to a severe point, you could be affecting your overall health beyond your mouth. Dental diseases can not only spread to your tooth roots and jaw bone, but even impact your heart health.

As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Your twice-a-year dental cleanings might not be the favorite item on your calendar, but they’re pretty important. And if it’s been a little (or a lot!) longer than six months, another old saying applies, too. It’s better to see your dentist late than never. So give us a call at Tedford Family Dentistry in Ooltewah TN today so we can give your teeth the attention they’re due.
Published in Blog
Monday, 17 November 2014 12:01

The Effects of Sugar on Your Teeth

pediatric dentist Ooltewah TNSugar can be one of the worst foods for your dental health, often leading to tooth decay and enamel erosion. The oral bacteria, plaque, use the sugar as energy to grow and strengthen in thickness. Without a proper brushing after eating, the plaque will eat away at the enamel eventually resulting in cavities and tooth decay.

In addition to a decline in tooth health, plaque can irritate gums making them more sensitive and susceptible to bleeding and gum disease. When the gums and teeth become separated, the resulting pockets can fill with bacteria and when left untreated can destroy the bone around the tooth causing loose teeth.

Here are a few tips to increase your overall oral health:
  • Eat a healthy and balanced diet.
  • Don’t eliminate entire food groups as that can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
  • Use a straw when drinking sugary or carbonated beverages to limit direct contact with your teeth.
  • Limit sugar consumption to a maximum of 4 times per day.
  • Snack on foods that are low in sugar such as cheese, nuts, vegetables or fruit.
  • When you do drink a soda, do so with a meal as it is less harmful to your teeth.
  • To protect against tooth decay, combine carbs with other foods to help neutralize acid.
  • Drink water throughout the day to keep your mouth moist and free of food particles.
A healthy and well balanced diet is essential to good overall health. While you should limit your sugar intake, it isn’t feasible to remove it from your diet entirely. Read the labels on products and be mindful to limit foods that have added sugar.

Like the saying states, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, but when you find yourself needing a cleaning, give our Ooltewah dentist office a call. Written by Tiffany Hutton
Published in Blog