Keeping Your Natural Teeth for Life

Keeping Your Natural Teeth for Life
A close-up view of a woman pointing to her mouth to emphasize her natural teeth.

Did you know that growing older doesn’t mean you have to eventually lose your teeth? Patients over 55 often see oral health changes as they age. However, there are ways to combat thinning enamel and tooth loss. Dentures, partials and implants can definitely restore your smile if you have lost teeth. However, find out how you can actually keep all your natural teeth and avoid tooth loss all your life!

How Common Is Decay and Tooth Loss?
According to the National Institutes of Health, tooth decay is the “most prevalent chronic disease” in both children and adults. Tooth decay—which you know by the term “cavities”—is a preventable disease that could happen to literally anyone with teeth. Other diseases don’t always run in a family line or the majority of the population isn’t susceptible to them. With tooth decay, they are, and if that decay is not corrected early-on, it can lead to tooth loss.

Let’s take a look at some of the facts:

• Gum disease affects more than 64.7 million Americans, which only factors in adults with this disease. It’s caused by the same plaque that causes your cavities to form. There are more people that have tooth decay than gum disease, but the actual number in the millions is not known.
• By adulthood, more than 92% of people have had cavities at least once, if not many times.
• Untreated cavities grow larger, causing internal tooth infection, gum disease (with receding gums) and tooth loss.
• More than 120 million Americans have lost at least one permanent tooth, most of the time due to decay.
• A healthy adult mouth has 32 natural teeth. However, the average adult only has 25 teeth or less.
• More than 36 million Americans have no natural teeth left in their mouth.

Keeping Your Natural Teeth for Life
It can be much easier to keep your natural teeth for life if you have the right habits. Part of those habits include actions that prevent erosion, decay and plaque buildup in the first place. Those include:

• Skipping foods that are acidic in nature. The focus should be on avoiding citrus fruits and any type of food with acids in them or added citric acid.
• Avoiding drinks that are acidic. Anything carbonated (including water) is acidic for your teeth and will strip them of minerals, weakening them to be harmed easier by decay. Avoid carbonated drinks, citrus drinks (that contain citric acid) and sugary drinks, which lead to high plaque production.
• Manage a healthy diet with reduced or little sugar in it. The more sugar you eat, the more plaque your mouth makes and the more your teeth can decay.
• No skipping on your oral hygiene routine. Plan ahead if you have work or a busy schedule. Take a brushing and flossing kit with you in your bag if you need to.

Even though tooth decay and tooth loss is fairly common, it doesn’t mean that it has to be common with you. You can avoid oral health diseases and keep your natural teeth for life if you avoid substances that hurt your teeth. Follow an oral hygiene routine every single day and visit the dentist. If you need to schedule your dental cleaning and exam, call us today at 305-324-5072!