It is likely that your mouth goes through more wear and tear than any other part of your body. It is responsible for breaking down all the food you put into your body. In other words, it is your first line of defense when it comes to bacteria and foreign entities entering your body, even if these entities are delicious. As such, you can encounter many dental issues during your lifetime.
You are probably already aware of the importance of brushing your teeth. However, unclean teeth are not the only common dental issue you may face. Fortunately, most common issues are easy enough to fix.
Tooth Decay
The largest issue that is associated with your mouth is tooth decay. The rotting of your teeth will make it difficult to chew your food and it only takes a single decayed tooth in your mouth to attract enough bad bacteria to move the decaying process to the surrounding teeth. As such, one decayed tooth sets up a chain reaction that could result in you losing all your teeth.
Since tooth decay starts with a build-up of plaque and bacteria that eats away at the tooth, you can prevent this issue by brushing your teeth regularly. Also, you can prevent the knock-on effect that tooth decay starts by having the decaying tooth removed. If you need to have multiple teeth removed in this way, you can also have dentures fitted to replace the missing teeth, so chewing does not become awkward.
Crooked Teeth
Just because your adult teeth are guaranteed to come through after you lose your baby teeth, there is nothing to ensure that these new teeth will come through straight. Some common reasons for teeth to come in wonky are the use of a pacifier or a misaligned jaw. As you would expect, teeth coming in crooked happens quite frequently.
Night guards such as NTI night guards can also play a role in protecting your teeth from damage caused by grinding or clenching during sleep.
Click here to learn more about how night guards like NTI can help protect your teeth.
Unfortunately, a crooked row of teeth can come with a few additional problems. For starters, these overlapping teeth are harder to clean, which means that they are more likely to succumb to tooth decay. Also, an unflattering smile could harm your self-esteem. Anyone who is worried about this particular issue should consider getting braces without wires. This discrete apparatus slowly realigns the teeth so that they are no longer an issue. As it turns out, braces without wires from ALIGNERCO are just as effective at straightening teeth as clear wire braces.
Bad Breath
The bacteria inside your mouth aren’t always the enemy. In fact, these tiny microbes are sometimes necessary for eliminating some of the germs that could be harmful to your gut health. Unfortunately, a build-up of this bacteria over time can cause you to have bad breath.
This bacterium is normally removed when you brush your teeth. Sadly, there may be times when you have to go long periods without brushing, like when you go to bed at night. These bacteria can also group around particular foods. As you would imagine, you can avoid this dental problem by regularly brushing your teeth. Also, don’t forget to brush your tongue at the same time. If you are in a position where you cannot brush your teeth immediately, some scented chewing gum or breath freshener will mask the problem until you get to a sink. If you find routine brushing isn’t helping your bad breath, then you may need a check-up at the dentist to find out whether you have another underlying issue. Again, any of the potential causes of bad breath can be easily fixed with a dental procedure.
Sensitive Teeth
You may sometimes experience sharp pain whenever you eat or drink something too cold. This sensation isn’t always caused by tooth decay. Instead, you may have sensitive teeth.
Sensitive teeth are caused by worn enamel or an exposed root of a tooth. If you are experiencing this common problem after a dentist has checked your mouth for anything that needs fixing, you may benefit from using toothpaste designed for people with sensitive teeth.
Receding Gums
Your gums are supposed to act as the glue keeping your teeth in place. Unfortunately, these gums can start to recede over time. Your gums can also recede due to bad oral hygiene or brushing them too hard or too often. Receding gums means that there is less protection around the roots of your teeth. As a result, they can become exposed to the bacteria that cause them to rot.
Fortunately, your gums do heal over time if you damage them from overbrushing. However, if the damage is irreversible then you may need to consider something known as a gum graft surgery to replace the missing tissue.
Conclusion
As you can see, dental issues are very common. You have probably encountered some of these issues yourself. Fortunately, most common dental problems are easy enough to fix or manage.