Dental Care Can Prevent Disease-Not Just Replace and Repair

By Howard Marshall

When we experience pain in our teeth, we are very likely to see our dentist. In fact, it may even be the signal for some people to visit their respective dentists and seek dental care. This is because many people see pain as an important indicator of illness. In the case of our dental health, we often see the pain of toothaches as a signal that there is something wrong with our tooth; and that dental care such as extraction or dental implants must immediately be realized in order for us to address the problem.

Although more commonly associated with children getting cavities, dental disorders are still rampant among adults who tend to ignore proper dental hygiene. For some reason many people fail to understand the importance of healthy gums and teeth in keeping the whole body healthy. For example, we now know that heart disease has been linked to damage on the lining of the coronary arteries from periodontal bacteria and their by products. Insufficient attention to dental health is dangerous not just to our aesthetic presence, but to our overall well-being.

Actually, this practice often leads us to an expensive and painful experience. The reason behind this is that waiting for pain to be felt before seeking dental care actually teaches us only to seek dental care when our dental illnesses is already in a grave situation. What most dental patients fail to see is that dental disease does not develop in an instant. In reality, it develops in a chain reaction. More often than not, pain is already an indicator of the seriousness of the dental problem. It is necessary for us to understand better the nature of dental disease in order to avoid it.

The reason why we only feel the pain when our dental problem already is in a serious condition is because diseases start first in cellular levels. Diseases at this level of development do not induce pain yet. In addition, pain only starts to be registered in our brain when significant areas of the tooth involved already incurred damages. In the case of toothaches, usually, pain only starts to be registered when surrounding tissues and supporting bone structures are already destroyed. It takes time before we can feel the pain that it causes and the time that passes before we can feel the pain is also the time when complications are starting to develop. In this case, in order for us to address the pain caused by toothaches, depending on the situation, extraction, filling and even dental implants is required.

This certain chain reaction, when left untreated, triggers bigger problems. Usually, factors that cause dental illnesses work in a smooth cause and effect relationship, eventually triggering this chain reaction. To further illustrate, let us see the case of bleeding gums. This illness, when left untreated, eventually causes the destruction of the surrounding bone structure, loose teeth, and eventual tooth extraction.

Oral problems can usually be avoided by frequently visiting a dentist (at least twice/year). This would make the need for emergency dental care unnecessary. As long as checkups are regularly done with your dentist, an emergency would not arise unless it was due to fracturing a tooth or the failure of a previous root canalled tooth. The early detection of dental cavities, gum disease and broken fillings may be solved with simple dental treatments. However, should these problems go untreated, root canal operations, gum surgery and teeth extraction might be the only solutions available.

Treating dental diseases early and avoiding this situation helps us to save a lot of time, pain and money. Especially, several dental care costs such as dental implants, root canal measures, tooth extraction or teeth whitening. - 29879

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