Oral disease prevention
Tooth decay has become a problem for most people. Some suffer from it to a lesser extent, while others, even at a young age, have no tooth without a filling. It is possible to avoid this unfortunate trend only if you engage in caries prevention. With proper adherence to all preventive measures, you can protect yourself from this disease by 95%. However, a 100% result has not yet been achieved, because there is also a hereditary factor in the form of a predisposition to caries. There are people who, since childhood, did not indulge in sweets and regularly brushed their teeth, yet they have a worse condition than slobs and sweet tooths.
What does caries prevention entail:
1. Maintain oral hygiene by regular brushing with a toothbrush and paste - 2 times a day after meals. Additional aids include dental floss and a special tongue brush. In general, brushing your teeth should take at least 4 minutes each time; rinsing your mouth between meals. For those who have dentures, using an irrigator is recommended. Visit a dentist twice a year for examination and consultation regarding the presence of caries, periodontal diseases, and oral mucosa diseases; dental treatment, professional teeth cleaning using professional equipment. If a person is prone to tartar, it is removed by various methods:
- chemical;
- laser;
- ultrasonic.
2. Strengthening teeth from within (a dentist will provide consultation during an appointment). This is done by taking certain minerals that are part of tooth enamel.
3. Modern caries prevention often accompanies teeth whitening. No less effective is the sealing of fissures and pits of the tooth. As a rule, such an action is part of caries prevention in children when their permanent teeth erupt. Sealing these weak areas helps to keep teeth healthy for as long as possible.
Professional caries prevention often involves correcting the bite. Dentists have observed that if teeth are subjected to uneven loads, they are more susceptible to caries.
4. Proper Nutrition. If a person's diet is rich in foods that supply the body with calcium and fluorine, this is already a significant part of such prevention. For complete success, these micronutrients must be properly absorbed by the body. There are certain foods that should not be consumed excessively. These include sweets and carbonated drinks, especially those with concentrated flavors. Inexpensive sugar substitutes, despite being marketed as additives that protect against caries, also have a destructive effect on enamel. Concentrated juices and sour apples, which were previously recommended for consumption at night to clean teeth, can also be harmful.
For healthy teeth, it is better to eat carrots, which contain phytoncides to the same extent as onions and garlic, and also mechanically remove plaque due to their fiber content. Among modern foods, wasabi – Japanese horseradish – can be used. According to Japanese medical scientists, this product simply blocks the reproduction of carious microbes.
A deficiency in vitamin C provokes the demineralization of tooth enamel. Going back in time, one can recall the terrible disease – scurvy, which arose precisely due to a deficiency of ascorbic acid and manifested, among other things, in tooth loss. A lack of vitamin D, on which the body's absorption of calcium directly depends, also negatively affects the condition of teeth. However, even if these vitamins are at adequate levels, the body may lack fluorine, which will also lead to the development of caries. Water fluoridation in areas where it is deficient in micronutrients is one of the popular methods of caries prevention.
State Institution "Rassonsky RCG&E". 2024.