When you practice it consistently and follow every principle of good dental hygiene, you can largely prevent most of the concerns that can affect your oral health. Most people recognize this as the important reason to stick to a good hygiene routine every day. However, it can also make people question why dental hygiene isn’t more successful at preventing common concerns, like tooth decay or gum disease. Today, we examine how such concerns can develop even when you think you’re practicing good hygiene, and a few ways you can make your dental hygiene more successful.
Because it isn’t consistent
The oral bacteria that you brush and floss off of your teeth every day don’t stay gone once you’re done rinsing. In fact, as soon as you walk away from the sink, they may have already begun to accumulate once more. This constant accumulation is why it’s important to brush your teeth thoroughly at least twice every day, and to floss at least once. It’s also why skipping even just one brushing can be enough for oral bacteria to get strong enough to cause problems, such as infecting your tooth structure with decay or causing the development of gum disease.
Because you’re brushing too hard
Consistency isn’t the only thing that’s easy to overlook and forget about when it comes to brushing your teeth. The technique you use can also be a factor in how successful your hygiene routine is. Your tooth enamel is strong, but it isn’t indestructible, and scrubbing it too harshly with your toothbrush and toothpaste could cause more harm than good. For example, it could weaken or damage the enamel, making your tooth structure more vulnerable to decay. Weakened tooth enamel can also leave a tooth more susceptible to being chipped, cracked, or broken, and requiring more extensive restorative treatment.
Because of other factors
While technique and consistency matter, one of the biggest reasons why dental hygiene isn’t as successful as it should be is because there are many other factors that can influence it. For example, even if you clean your teeth thoroughly and successfully every day, you might still develop tooth decay if you eat a lot of sugar and barely (or never) drink any water. Likewise, your gums might be healthy, but still become subject to gum disease if they recede or if you have a gummy smile.
Learn how to make hygiene more successful
Dental hygiene’s purpose is to help you avoid common dental concerns, but it can fail for a number of different factors. To learn more, or to schedule an appointment, call Lake Orion Family Dentistry in Lake Orion, MI, today at 248-693-6213.
