Your Guide for a Healthy Smile in 2022: Benefits of Good Dental Health

Maintaining healthy teeth extends beyond your cosmetic appearance to your overall health, wellness, and quality of life. A healthy smile can improve your facial aesthetics, boost self-confidence, and make you more approachable. Discolored, stained, damaged, or missing teeth can produce the opposite effects on your appearance and approachability.

Read about the benefits of good oral care and healthy teeth, find out how good oral hygiene improves your overall health, immune system, and confidence, and see how good oral health reduces the risk of health problems in the future and supports a higher quality of life as you age.

Healthy Smile Guide: Top 5 Reasons to Keep Your Smile Healthy in 2022

When someone looks at your healthy smile, it tells a story about who you are and your priorities. Your smile reflects the quality of care with which you treat yourself. Maintaining healthy teeth and gums improves your body, health, and mental state, which is positively reflected in the rest of your daily life.

So why don’t more people take better care of their oral health and visit the dentist every six months? In 2021, there were nearly 100,000,000 Americans who had not been to a dentist in over a year. If that is you, there is no better time to begin caring for your dental health. A healthy smile produces invaluable benefits that are well worth the time and attention that your oral health requires:

Dental Health Reflects and Affects Overall Health

Taking good care of your teeth and gums is more significant than your cosmetic appearance. Your oral cavity is the gateway to the rest of your body, and your dental health reflects your overall health. Good oral care reduces your risk of developing severe health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and more.

Gum disease, oral bacteria, and plaque contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease, endocarditis, respiratory illness, and premature birth. Gum disease is also linked to a higher risk of cancer and dementia in women. By maintaining healthy teeth and gums, you can decrease your risk of dementia and some kinds of cancer by up to 14%.

Keep All of Your Natural Teeth as You Age

If you want to keep all of your natural teeth and oral function as you age, it is vital to care for your oral health and practice good hygiene. Dentists recommend a minimum care routine of brushing twice and flossing once a day. After brushing, use a fluoridated mouthwash for at least 30 seconds to a minute to boost your teeth’s enamel and long-lasting fresh breath. Your teeth can continue to serve you for the rest of your life if you care for your teeth and gums properly.

Smiling Boosts Your Immune System

Studies show that smiling and laughing boost your immune system, helping you fight off disease, infection, and illness in your brain and body as you age. If you are self-conscious about your teeth, it may negatively affect your health more than you think. Negative thoughts and actions weaken your immune responses, whereas positivity does the opposite.

Avoid Major Oral Surgery Down the Road

If you have gone without a good oral hygiene routine for most of your life, the benefits of starting will be abundant and apparent. Best of all, you are investing in your long-term health and wellness. If you maintain healthy teeth and gums, you are less likely to lose your teeth to gum disease or decay when you get older. Once gum disease begins to damage your teeth and jaw, you cannot undo the damage. However, your dentist can prevent further damage and help minimize the consequences of gum disease. You can avoid root canals, dental implant placement surgery, and gum surgery by practicing a daily routine of proper oral care.

Improve Your Overall Happiness and Quality of Life

In your day-to-day life, your cosmetic appearance plays a significant role in your confidence level and how comfortable you feel in your skin. Your smile can improve your mood, overall happiness, and long-term wellness. You can maintain a healthy smile that brings joy and healing to you and everyone around you.

It’s never too late to improve your oral health and give your mouth the best care possible. You deserve a smile that reflects the best version of you. Call our office and schedule a consultation today to get your healthy smile and build a foundation for dental health and wellness.