People with healthy teeth can take great pleasure in flaunting a beautiful smile and fresh breath, eating and speaking clearly, as well as benefiting from having clear speech.
Studies have also revealed that systemic diseases, like diabetes or AIDS, often first manifest themselves through lesions or other oral symptoms.
Oral health challenges like cavities, gingivitis and bad breath are largely avoidable through healthy lifestyle choices and consistent hygiene practices. But why are teeth so crucial to overall wellbeing?
They Help You Chew
Teeth serve a primary function in eating: they help break down food to be digested by our bodies and form words, support lips and keep jaw bone density strong.
Their hard surface is covered with enamel to protect their softer, denser inner parts – there are three types of teeth: incisors, canines and premolars.
Premolars are the largest of all teeth, working alongside molars to digest food for digestion.
Although less noticeable than their molar counterparts, premolars feature flat surfaces for crushing food into chewable chunks as well as grooves to trap food particles for easier chewing.
Slacking off on oral care can result in gum disease and tooth decay, both of which can wreak havoc with one’s oral health and even lead to nutritional deficiencies in the form of improper digestion of food by obstructing digestive pathways and depriving your body of necessary minerals and vitamins.
The mouth serves as one of the primary entryways into our digestive and respiratory systems, making it an ideal environment for germs to flourish.
An average adult’s mouth may harbor up to 6 million bacteria that are generally harmless; however, if these organisms escape control they could travel down through digestive system into organs responsible for breathing or spread to other parts of body causing infections that require medical treatment or even death.
Certain medications can have an adverse impact on the health of your teeth and mouth.
Antidepressants, decongestants and antihistamines can decrease saliva production leading to dry mouth which makes brushing and flossing harder – it is therefore vitally important that you inform your physician of all medications being taken by you.
They Help You Smell
Many people know they should brush and floss daily, and visit the King City dentist twice annually; but many don’t fully comprehend why these routines are essential to their overall health.
Our mouth is home to both good and bad bacteria. When the balance tips toward more harmful than beneficial, plaque forms and leads to gum disease and other dental issues.
Furthermore, this excess bacteria may enter our bloodstream and travel throughout our bodies, potentially leading to infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
Each tooth contains enamel, the hardest substance in our bodies. Beneath that sits dentin – another hard but less durable substance – while cementum covers and anchors it securely into its socket in the jawbone.
Because eating and drinking habits can have an impactful impact on teeth, it’s essential that we watch what we consume – sugary drinks feed the bacteria that cause cavities while acidic drinks wear away at enamel; smoking/chewing tobacco also contributes to bad breath as well as staining teeth.
Your saliva (pronounced: sa-luh) washes away food particles and acid produced by germs in your mouth, helping keep it healthy. Certain conditions, including diabetes and HIV/AIDS, can reduce saliva flow making oral health more challenging.
They Help You Talk
Teeth are vitally important in many ways; not only do they allow us to chew food and boast beautiful smiles that boost confidence, but they are also critical components of human speech and overall health.
Teeth are essential components of human speech as they create a physical platform against which tongue and lip pressure can be applied when pronouncing phonetic sounds, like the “f” sound made possible by friction between lower lip and upper front teeth – the “f” is produced when there is friction between lower lip and upper front teeth that creates the “f”.
Without having properly formed teeth this sound would be difficult or impossible to produce and issues like malocclusion (crookedness of spacing) and habits such as bruxism can hinder how clearly one speaks.
Untreated oral hygiene issues can quickly lead to infections in the mouth and gums that spread throughout the body. Studies have linked poor oral health with conditions like heart disease, diabetes, pregnancy complications and more.
The mouth and teeth are home to various essential systems, including the digestive system and immune system.
Any infection in the mouth could interfere with how nutrients are absorbed by your body – so it is crucial that you maintain good oral hygiene by visiting your dentist for regular cleanings and checkups.
Certain medications, like bisphosphonates such as Fosamax, Actonel or Denosumab can have adverse effects on oral health as well; for example they increase risk for osteonecrosis of the jaw – an agonizing condition which damages bone health – as can antiresorptives such as bisphosphonates like Fosamax, Actonel and Denosumab can raise risk significantly for developing osteonecrosis of the jaw bone damage and osteonecrosis of the jawbone, thus further impairing oral health in addition to any associated medical condition they could potentially impact oral health such as with any prescribed antiresorptives like Fosamax Actonel Denosumab can increase risk for osteonecrosis of the jawbone damage by increasing risk for osteonecrosis of jaw bone damage caused by increasing antiresorptive medications like Fosamax Actonel Denosumab use; hence why regular visits to dentist are also vital in order to maintain good oral health! a condition caused by damage of jaw bone caused by this condition!
They Help You Eat
Your teeth play an essential role in maintaining the overall health and wellbeing of both you and your mouth, body, and mind.
Poor dental health has been linked to heart disease, diabetes complications and pregnancy issues; but good oral hygiene and making healthier lifestyle choices can protect both.
Our front teeth (incisors and canines) may be visible, but they play an integral role in how we eat.
Without them, it would be difficult to break down and chew foods such as meat, hard fruits and vegetables or other hard substances with enough force for digestion.
Plaque bacteria feed off sugar found in food we eat to produce acid that eats away at tooth enamel, leading to cavities and other dental health problems. Plaque has also been linked with heart disease, diabetes and obesity; and, left unchecked, can travel from mouth to brain triggering memory loss and Alzheimer’s.
Maintaining a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D is crucial to good dental health.
Brushing your teeth daily with fluoride toothpaste and flossing daily are both excellent ways to lower the risk of tooth decay, while it’s wise to also try and avoid sugary or acidic food and drinks as much as possible, using straws when drinking acidic beverages to minimize exposure of acidic beverages to your enamel.
