Preventing Tooth Decay
Cleaning your teeth and removing the plaque or bacteria layer is a great start to preventing decay but nutrition and underlying health must be part of this equation as research published in dental journals in the late 1960’ demonstrated that decay rates are intimately associated with the systemic health of your body.
The best solution to prevent tooth decay is to:
- eat a good diet
- reduce your stress levels
- practice very good oral hygiene
- avoid anything which increases toxicity
- avoid anything that reduces your immune function, including mercury-amalgam fillings and fluoride.It is always better to prevent decay rather than deal with its consequences. And on that note, it is always better to fill a small hole rather than let the tooth be destroyed.
The Real Reasons Your Teeth Decay
Teeth decay due to:
- poor nutrition
- sugar consumption
- lack of minerals
- lack of micro-nutrients like copper, iron and manganese
- toxins
- stress
- inflammation
- lack of exercise
- poor circulation
- and lastly poor oral hygiene.Dental decay is a symptom of systemic disease and imbalances.
Often bacteria are present when tooth decay is active, but they are not the cause of it.In order to prevent cavities it is essential to consider all theories behind tooth decay and from there take a holistic approach to prevention by focusing on diet, toxicity, inflammation and lifestyle choices.
Oral Hygiene
Oral hygiene is a key component when it comes to having attractive, healthy looking teeth and gums. Brushing and flossing regularly and effectively keeps your teeth clean, free from stains, plaque and tartar build up, helps keep the gums in good condition and reduces your risk for dental decay and gum disease .
As discussed earlier removing plaque or bacteria build up and food debris from the teeth by brushing alone is not the only key to preventing dental disease but is one part of the bigger picture. Without a doubt though if you don’t brush your teeth it won’t be long until they look dirty as food debris, staining, plaque and eventually tartar builds up making your teeth look yellow and grubby and it sure won’t help you have sweet smelling breath.
In this day and age where people are more aware of their appearance the focus in dentistry is more and more on everyone having great looking white teeth than it is on having a healthy mouth. But I believe you can have both. I want you to have great looking teeth and great oral health for life.
Brushing and flossing are crucial if you want to maintain healthy gums. After all whats the point of having perfect straight white teeth if your gum health is so bad that eventually you will end up losing your teeth so that the only pearly whites you will have will be the sort you take out at night or will be held in on dental implants.
Prevention is much better than cure or management of a condition and when it comes to prevention focusing on oral hygiene is a must.