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Hannah Bost
Professor Caruso
UWRT 1103
14 July 2015
Dental Hygiene: Why Is It Important?
Dental hygiene plays a significant role in your overall health and well being. Maintaining
oral health is key to having systematic health; neglecting oral obligations and allowing dental
health to decline is allowing the possibility of many other disorders to manifest. Keeping the
mouth, teeth and gums healthy is fairly simple as long as you regularly brush, floss and attend
dental check-ups to ensure everything is in order.
It it very common for an individual to be accustomed to brushing and occasionally
flossing their teeth. Parents tell their children that if they fail to brush their teeth every morning
and every night, their teeth will fall out or they will get cavities; this is all very true, but the list
of complications doesnt end with just cavities and losing teeth. Primarily, the first sign of
someone not brushing their teeth is the build up of plaque on the enamel; plaque itself can be
removed and easily taken care of, but if not taken care of in a timely fashion, the plaque can lead
to cavities, or the decay of the enamel, which can be very painful. The eroding enamel can lead
to the exposure of nerve endings within the tooth, this can cause sensitivity to hot or cold, sweet
or sour, constant pain or a combination of all the above. Tooth loss is bad enough itself, but can
open the door to a slew of other health related problems and expenses. Tooth loss in those under

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the age of 35 can be a potential risk factor for developing Alzheimers disease later on in life
(McNamee, Medical News Today). Loss of teeth can also correlate with some digestive
disorders, like IBS, intestinal failure and other various digestive diseases that can be caused by
inability to completely chew and break down foodstuffs.
Many people question why flossing is so important because it is something so tedious,
that many people are hesitant to do every night. Flossing goes hand-in-hand with brushing, and is
key to maintaining good oral health. Forgetting to floss or plainly not flossing at all can also lead
to a build up of plaque between the teeth. Flossing removes the plaque that brushing alone
cannot reach; the tiny spaces between the teeth can harbor food particles and plaque that the
bristles of a toothbrush cannot remove. This can lead to cavities between the teeth and can lead
to infections in the gums. Remembering the importance of flossing, to aid brushing, is necessary
when maintaining dental health. Flossing prevents the formation of cavities, decay and gum
disease.
Other than the obviously visible signs of bad oral health, bad breath is a good indicator of
oral health status. Halitosis, or chronic bad breath, is an ailment in itself, but bad breath alone
can be a sign of other diseases that are not so easily seen. 90% of all systematic ailments have
symptoms that result in oral manifestations (Delta Dental). More serious diseases, like AIDs,
HIV or diabetes can lead to oral vulnerability when it comes to individual susceptibility and
severity of infections (Colgate). These diseases can lower the immune systems defenses and
allow a small infection due to gum disease to develop into a life threatening condition if left
untreated. However, bad breath may be a product of medications that are treating other illnesses,

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resulting in lowered saliva production, which causes bad breath due to elevated levels of
bacteria. Decreased salivary levels is a common side effect of numerous medications, and
doesnt necessarily indicate the presence of an underlying disorder other than the one being
treated (Mayo Clinic).
Food or products an individual consumes can also positively or negatively affect their
oral health. Eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals, like fruits, vegetables, superfoods or even
supplements, supports good gum and tooth health (Delta Dental). For example, calcium is a
supplement that promotes healthy enamel and bones. Adversely, consuming products that are
harmful to the oral cavity and other parts of the body, like smoking cigarettes, can result in
cancers of the mouth, tongue or lungs, which could obviously metastasize. What a person puts
into their body is what their body manifests from.
Separate from the health of the actual teeth, gum health is just as important. Having
unhealthy gums, or gum disease, can lead to tooth loss or other severe implications. Tooth loss
results in the individual usually opting to get prosthesis made to replace their missing teeth,
whether it is a full denture or just a partial; implants or veneers are also opting if the mouth is
healthy enough for the dental work. People can take proactive steps towards healthy gums with,
again, doing something as simple as eating mineral and vitamin enriched foods. Scheduling
regular visits with a dentist can also help identify gum disease, flossing plays a huge part in
whether an individual develops gum diseases like gingivitis. Studies have even been done to
show that other than oral related implications, gum disease had also been linked to developing

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heart disease and strokes. Another study even found that mothers who had gum disease, had
lower birth weights than mothers who had healthy gums and teeth (Delta Dental).
The last and most important way to keep up with oral health is to ensure that individuals
are scheduling regular check ups with their dentists (Delta Dental). As well as with the flossing,
some people question the importance of going to a dentist. Most people are scared of the dentist,
but should really be more scared of the things that could manifest if they refuse to seek dental
treatment. Dentists can see things that we would otherwise not be able to see or identify standing
in the bathroom mirror with a flashlight. Dentists also assess the issues going on in the mouth
and help treat what diseases a person might not be able to treat by themselves at home. Like
having a tooth extracted; first they would have to identify whether the tooth is still savable by
filling or whether it needed to be pulled, then the more invasive part: pulling it, if necessary,
which is the part most dentist dont suggest trying to do yourself at home. Besides the heavily
invasive treatments, dentists also administer things like fluoride treatments, as a form of
preventive care. Fluoride helps form a barrier on top of the teeth and strengthens the enamel. So
overall, besides the syringes and tools of torture, dentists are really on the patients side and are
here to make sure a small oral problem doesn't result in numerous more severe implications.
Dental hygiene is important for more reasons than one; its more of a slippery slope, if
you choose not to maintain your dental health, you can be sure other health problems will
develop. Oral hygiene plays a major part in your bodys overall health, and is often the first thing
people notice about you. Keeping up with it is more beneficial than not.