May is National Save Your Tooth Month

by | May 8, 2023 | Dental Care | 0 comments

dental care

It seems like every professional association in the country has already claimed a month to promote its special area of interest. Take May, for example, which is National Bike Month, National Guide Dog Month, National Pet Month, and even Zombie Awareness Month (a pressing issue, to be sure).

The American Association of Endodontists, which is a league of dentists who specialize in complex health issues that primarily affect tooth pulp, also claimed May as National Save Your Tooth Month. That makes now the perfect time to focus on all the ways you can preserve your natural teeth!

 

What Can You Do to Save Your Teeth?

  1. Brush twice daily. Many species of bacteria love colonizing human teeth. Some are totally harmless. Some are actually helpful! But a few of them produce acid when they metabolize sugar – and when that acid accumulates in sufficient concentrations, it will gradually dissolve the tooth enamel. Brushing twice daily won’t eliminate acidiferous bacteria altogether, but it will remove a significant amount of their harmful excretions.
  2. Choose a toothpaste with fluoride. Fluoride is a mineral that is naturally present in water and many foods. While high concentrations of fluoride can damage teeth, normal dosages from over-the-counter toothpastes and mouthwashes can reverse early tooth decay and even fortify tooth enamel by remineralizing it.
  3. Floss regularly. No dental hygiene regimen is complete without regular flossing. Flossing removes food particles from crevices where toothbrush bristles can’t reach, bacteria which cause bad breath, and enamel-eroding plaque from below the gumline. In addition to gum disease, flossing can also reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
  4. Quit smoking. Brace yourself for it – a medical professional is about to tell you to quit smoking. We’ll skip all the horrible things tobacco smoke can do to your respiratory and circulatory systems. We just wish to point out that smoking can decelerate the time it takes for your gums to heal from injury, as well as increase the risk of developing (and accelerate the progression of) gum disease. Plus it stains your teeth.
  5. Eat a low-sugar diet. We just mentioned the sugar-eating, acid-producing bacteria that live on your teeth. You can mitigate those bacteria’s impact by physically removing them from your teeth. But if you would like to double down on your efforts to mitigate their effects, then depriving the bacteria of their preferred source of nutrition is an excellent way to go about it. In addition to sugar, try to limit your consumption of the “-ose” carbohydrates: glucose, fructose and sucrose.
  6. Visit your dentist every six months. When you receive routine dental care, you won’t just benefit from thorough teeth cleanings by a dental hygienist. You will also receive thorough examinations which detect early signs of gum disease, cavities, and other mouth conditions which could eventually lead to tooth loss. If your dentist discovers a tooth that is in need of immediate intervention but still savable, they may prescribe a root canal.

How Can a Root Canal Save Your Tooth?

A root canal is a dental treatment for infected tooth pulp. Pulp is the mass of nerves, blood vessels and connective tissue inside the tooth. It helps to create dentin, and also supplies the tooth with moisture and essential nutrients. When pulp becomes infected, it doesn’t just pose a severe risk of killing the tooth that contains it. It can also create an abscess and lead to infection of the surrounding jaw bone.

The root canal procedure involves removing the infected pulp from the tooth, carefully cleaning the interior, sealing the newly formed cavity so new bacteria can’t access it, and finally placing a crown or other restoration that fully restores the tooth’s appearance and functionality. Fortunately, a mature tooth can receive adequate nourishment from surrounding soft tissues, which is why the root canal procedure is so effective. More than 15 million root canals are performed each year!

If you have noticed sharp pain while chewing, pimples on your gums, a chipped or cracked tooth, increased sensitivity to hot or cold foods, or swollen, tender or darkening gums, it may indicate that the pulp in one of your teeth has become infected. The root canal is often used as an example of an especially unpleasant dental procedure, but this is no longer actually the case. Thanks to decades of advancement in dental techniques and anesthetics, the root canal procedure and subsequent recovery are both relatively painless.

While we don’t wish to detract from the importance of bikes, guide dogs and zombies, we hope you’ll make May the month when you renew your focus on preserving your natural teeth. If you would like to schedule routine teeth cleanings that will keep your God-given smile fully intact – or learn more about how a root canal can spare you from serious medical issues – then we welcome you to contact All About Teeth in Logan, Utah today!