Things You Should Know About Mouth Health

You know that it’s important to keep up with brushing and flossing, that’s been instilled since childhood. But there are a lot of things about mouth health that you might not be aware of, and even what you can do more of to support it.

One thing to keep in mind is how important your saliva is. Saliva is the body’s first defense at keeping the mouth clean, and it functions by helping to wash food out and away from your teeth where when stuck it will lead to the growth of bacteria. Having a healthy amount of bacteria is crucial for preventing cavities, so it’s one really great reason to make sure that you stay hydrated. When we don’t drink enough water or take meds that give us dry mouth it can lead to issues with our teeth.

Another thing to keep in mind, that it isn’t just what you eat that can affect your teeth, but how you eat. Sugar is a notoriously bad option when it comes to teeth health, but the more often you eat the more often you are forcing your mouth to clean itself, which means that the natural acids have the opportunity to wear down your enamel. The same goes for drinking, so if you sip coffee all day you’re putting your teeth to work. After we eat there is about a 20 minute window where the acids in the mouth are very active before they go back to a more neutralized state, so if you never stop snacking, the acids stay active a lot more.

Issues with the health and mouth can be directly correlated with other health issues such as heart disease, brain issues, stroke, and diabetes…and a lot of people have issues with the health of their mouth. Women with gum disease also have a higher risk of delivering a baby that is premature or underweight. As many as one in four people between the ages of 35 and 44 has gum disease, and when you get older say into the range of 65 and up that number jumps to one in four.

Researchers don’t know exactly why there is a link between gum disease and other illnesses, but it seems to have something to do with the chronic inflammation that occurs when there is too much bacteria in the mouth. The entire body is interconnected afterall, so it makes a certain amount of sense even though we don’t know the exact reasons.

While most people know to brush after eating, the exception to this rule is when you have had something acid like lemon or coffee. Brushing too soon after eating something acidic can actually cause the enamel to be stripped away off the teeth, since you’re essentially brushing with the acid that’s still on there. In that case you’re better off just swishing some water around in the mouth than actually brushing. Other than that sticking with a two a day brushing and flossing before bed should be good for the average person.