Tooth Loss Doesn’t Have To Be Part of Aging
The absolute best defense against tooth loss, whether it’s from disease, old age or lack of care, is to have a well-established relationship with your dentist so that they can spot problems long before a situation is irreversible.
That means not waiting until something catastrophic happens with your teeth to make an appointment. Rather, we at Downtown Dental Associates of Portland, want to help you maintain the teeth you have through regular care and consulting when issues arise. We recommend twice yearly visits to clean and examine your teeth for anything that might cause problems in the future.
That said, there’s a lot you can do in daily life to protect your teeth so you can keep them for a lifetime. The most important of these is, of course, having good oral hygiene. That means brushing twice daily and flossing at least once a day to disrupt the environment between teeth that is the source of so much decay and gum disease.
Lifestyle and general health factors that contribute to tooth loss include poor eating habits, smoking, hypertension, diabetes and arthritis. But how we treat our teeth every day also plays a part in keeping them healthy. Consider that your adult teeth have to last many decades, so they should be treated with care.
Many people don’t realize that, while their teeth are excellent tools for the job of eating, they are not meant to be used for jobs that don’t involve normal chewing, such as cracking ice cubes, nuts or those burnt popcorn kernels at the bottom of the bowl. They’re also not meant for removing bottle caps, chewing pencils, holding keys, hangers, pens or anything else while your hands are otherwise occupied. And they’re not nearly as good at removing a tag or loosening a knot than a small pair of scissors would be, nor are they meant for cutting thread for that matter.
Our best advice in this area is if you don’t have the proper tool for a job, don’t assume your teeth can easily handle it. Better to wait and save your teeth the stress of a job they were not intended for.
Contact Downtown Dental Associates of Portland today if you have any questions about your dental care or dental procedures in general.