The enemies to keep away

Smoking, drinking alcohol and poor eating habits can cause periodontal disease, dental caries, inflammation and irreversible damages to your teeth.

Dental caries – also known as cavities or caries – is the breakdown of teeth due to the activities of bacteria. Symptoms may include pain and difficulty with eating. Periodontal diseases can cause inflammation of the gums (such as gingivitis or periodontitis), tooth mobility, bone resorption, and even tooth loss.

Harmful habits

Our oral hygiene is a regular practice of keeping the mouth and teeth clean to prevent dental problems. Some of our habits or daily activities, however, can alter this natural balance.

Foods high in sugar increase the risk of tooth decay. Poor diet and lack of certain substances such as magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese and vitamins can cause inflammation of the gums and lead to early fall of teeth. The best food choices for the health of our mouth include milk, leafy vegetables and fruits.

Drinking alcohol is harmful to the mucous membranes of the mouth, tongue, esophagus and pharynx because they contain sugars and acids that attack tooth enamel. Besides irritating all the soft tissue in the mouth, alcoholic beverages decrease the amount of natural saliva.

Smoking is the main cause of periodontal disease, which can induce tooth decay as a long-term effect. Smoking also can lead to unsightly damage even as stained teeth, yellowish patches, halitosis, bad breath, change in the perception of taste and smell and increase the build up of plaque and tartar on the teeth. During the processes of implantology and dental surgery advanced, smoking increases the risk of failure of the intervention and the rejection of the plants.

Bruxism or excessive grinding of the teeth may produce profound alterations of the teeth. Several symptoms could be associated with grinding teeth, including hypersensitivity of teeth losing the layer of dental enamel, aching jaw muscles and headache (due to muscle tension), bruxism may cause teeth damages or break of teeth or dental restorations such as crowns or fillings.

Leading to more inflammations, the hormones of pregnancy can cause or even aggravate the problems to the teeth and gums. There is also a correlation between gingivitis and preterm birth.
Bulimia and reflux can destroy tooth enamel.
Carbonated, sugared drinks can erode the dental enamel and may cause caries. Popular diet and sugared colas containing citric and phosphoric acids are nearly as corrosive to dental enamel as battery acid!
To eliminate the growth of bacteria that cause halitosis, good brushing surface of the tongue must be necessary.

Obvious, trivial but vital: prevention

Oral health is more important than you might realise: it has a positive effect on the health of the whole body. Indeed, we know that having a daily oral hygiene, keeping an eye on the condition of the gums and teeth, helps take care of ourselves. And sometimes seek the help of a dental hygienist in order to remove your calculus!