Oral hygiene is also very important to maintain overall good health. Socially, one has to keep one’s teeth in order and avoid bad breath as it can put off a person.

Oral health is essential to ensure that your teeth do not fall off too early and to avoid gum disease. Sparkling teeth is an asset to have, particularly for those dealing with the public.

How does one benefit from good oral health?
The present baby generation in the US will be the first and foremost generation to have all its teeth intact for a lifetime due to fluoride toothpastes and water fluoridation. Since past 10 years, the number of those adults losing their teeth completely has come down from 31% to 25% for those who are around 60 years of age and above. As far as adults between the ages 40-59 years are concerned, the figure has come down from 9% to 5%. At the same time 5% means that 1 out of 20 middle aged adults have all teeth missing. More than 40% adults who are poor ( 20 years of age and above) have at least one decayed tooth that is untreated as compared to about 16% of adults who are not poor.

What are the oral health problems faced by most?

• Toothache is very common that most adults experience. This can affect the vital functioning of the body system such as eating, swallowing as well as talking. Almost 1 out of 4 adults have reported facial pain during the past 6 months.
• Gum disease is another problem faced by adults. Severe disease of the gum affects nearly 14% of the adults who are aged between 45 to 54 years.
• Disease of the soft tissues, like cold sores are very common among adults, affecting 19% of them who are between the ages 25 to 44 years.
• Also chronic diseases which are disabling such as jaw joint diseases (TMD),osteoporosis, diabetes which affect a large number of Americans, who compromise on oral health as well as functioning.
• Women experience painful mouth as well as facial conditions (migraine headaches, TMD disorders and burning mouth syndrome) more often than men.
• Every year over 400,000 cancer patients complain of painful ulcers in the mouth as well as dry mouth and impaired taste.
• Patients with weak immune system, such as those suffering from HIV and medical conditions such as organ transplant and who happen to use steroids also complain of oral problems.

How does oral health problems affect the people?
Many employed adults lose out on work days on account of oral health problems or visits to the dentist. They lose out on 164 million hours of work each year. Several people do not have dental insurance.

About 70% adults have visited the dentist in a period of 12 months. Those who have income, which is more and above poverty level tend to visit the dentist as compared to those with lower income groups.

How to maintain one’s oral health?

• Make use of fluoride toothpaste and drink fluoridated water. Fluoride protects the teeth at all ages.
• One must brush well and remove the plaque. Flossing is essential.
• One must avoid tobacco as it can cause gum disease. It also increases the risk of oral as well as throat cancer. Spit tobacco contains sugar which results in tooth decay. It is better to avoid taking it.
• One must take less of it as it is a risk factor for throat and oral cancer. A combination of alcohol and tobacco use increases the risk factor for cancer much more.
• One must eat sensibly by avoiding foods that contain sugar as well as starch. One must limit the number of snacks one has in a day.
• One must visit the dentist regularly. Early detection of oral health problems reduces the extent of damage.
• Diabetic patients need to control their disease in order to prevent gum disease.
• If medicines cause dry mouth and then ask your physician for other medicines. If this is not possible then drink plenty of water.
• Have a oral check up before starting treatment for cancer. Radiation carried out on the neck, head and chemotherapy can create teeth as well as gum problems.

Good oral health is essential for overall physical well-being. One must consult one’s dentist regularly and also eat right and brush one’s teeth properly.

Related posts from Past:

1. 10 Bad Effects of Smokeless Tobacco on Mouth and Teeth
2. What is the Relationship between Chewing Tobacco and Cancer?
3. How Smokeless Tobacco causes Cancer?
4. Bidi Smoking and Oral Cancer
5. Harmful Chemicals found in Smokeless Tobacco