From the first time that you visited the dentist until now, you’ve probably been told that a proper teeth cleaning regimen is a must at least twice a day; if you can brush after every meal, that’s even better. While this advice may sound redundant, brushing routinely can not only save your teeth, it can keep your body healthy, too. To explain the consequences of insufficient brushing, your Livonia dentist, Dr. James Stewart, provides this information.
Consequences of Brushing Only Once Per Day
- Halitosis. Brushing and flossing is one of the surest ways to remove lingering food particles from teeth. Without completing a regular teeth cleaning routine, though, those tiny bits of food begin to breakdown; thus, producing the cause of halitosis, or bad breath.
- Cavities. The aforementioned process that causes bad breath also causes cavities. Over 600 types of oral bacteria live within in the oral cavity at any given time. However, the unhealthy varieties that cause cavities feed on the sugars left behind by food particles. This process creates an acidic by-product, which weakens the enamel and leads to cavities.
- Gum disease. Alongside bad breath and cavities, brushing only once a day causes gum disease. Unlike tooth decay, which directly affects the enamel, gum disease affects your mouth as a whole. Since the gums and jaw bone anchor tooth roots in place, a diseased gum line is unable to sustain teeth. Therefore, when untreated cases of gum disease advance into periodontitis, patients experience tooth loss. Though the cause of gum disease isn’t exclusively due to poor oral hygiene, it is a leading cause. For this reason, your Livonia dentist urges patients to brush at least twice a day.
- Increased heart disease risk. While many patients believe that gum disease is purely an oral issue, the truth is that gum disease affects the entire body—including the heart. Many studies have shown that oral infections can enter the blood stream, which can allow heart disease to develop.
Furthermore, untreated gum disease makes patients more susceptible to the development of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and even stroke.
Livonia Dentist Shares the Benefits of Teeth Cleaning
If you would like more information about the benefits of teeth brushing twice or more a day, talk to Dr. Stewart. With his help, you can begin and maintain a sound teeth cleaning regimen to ensure your smile stays in top-notch shape. To schedule an appointment with your Livonia dentist, call our office at (734) 425-4400. Also, visit our website to view services, testimonials, and print patient forms. We look forward to treating patients from Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and surrounding areas.