If we were asked to list important health habits like eating nutritious foods, exercising, reducing stress, and getting enough sleep you’d probably easily rattle those off. Most people today are familiar with mainstream advice focused on these common wellness topics. But there’s one critical area of health that often gets overlooked on those must-do lists “oral hygiene.”
It’s easy to take brushing and flossing for granted as boring daily routines or habits from childhood that stick around out of vague obligation. Especially when juggling fitness trends, superfoods, and self-care rituals flooding social media lately. However, while eating an extra serving moimoi certainly offers benefits, nothing impacts both your short and longterm health outlook quite like dedicated oral care.
Your mouth is home to billions of bacteria - both helpful and harmful kinds. When harmful bacteria build up from inadequate cleaning, you get much more vulnerable to plaque, decay, and periodontal (gum) disease. Sure, getting cavities repaired when caught early feels annoying but routine. However, studies link poor gum health from buildup bacteria to heightened systemic inflammation and risk of developing serious conditions like heart disease, diabetes complications, osteoporosis, and even dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease. Talk about alarming.
Oral health is extremely important for both short-term and long-term wellbeing, even though it often gets overlooked in mainstream health advice. Poor oral hygiene leading to gum inflammation and diseases has been conclusively linked to heightened risk for a number of serious systemic conditions like:
- Heart disease
- Diabetes complications
- Osteoporosis
- Dementia and Alzheimer's disease
Additionally, swollen infected gums compromise the mouth's ability to properly absorb key nutrients from food. Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals caused by incomplete digestion due to gum issues can create problems throughout the body over time.
Seeing a dentist regularly for deep cleanings and check-ups, using an electric toothbrush with proper technique, and daily thorough flossing helps control bacteria responsible for decay and dangerous gum inflammation before it gets out of hand. Considering how dental health ties directly to long-term risk for chronic illness, paying more attention to oral hygiene provides one of the easiest yet most valuable protective health measures available. It deserves as much consideration as healthy eating, exercise, and other wellness fundamentals even though it often gets overlooked.
Additionally, inflammation and swelling in infected gums compromise your ability to properly absorb key nutrients from food that require digestive enzymes in saliva. When your mouth can’t adequately break down vitamins and minerals, your whole-body health suffers over time from these incremental deficiencies. You also may turn to inappropriate medications like opioids to treat severe tooth pain when preventative care could have avoided problems.
Considering how closely intertwined oral health is with keeping both teeth strong and your overall physiology balanced, it deserves more attention than the cursory few minutes most people dedicate slapping toothpaste around their mouth. Here are three simple ways to step up your oral wellness game for better long term health:
See your dentist religiously every 6 months for a thorough cleaning and checkup (not just when you have a crisis brewing!) Getting a deep, careful cleaning above the gumline removes harmful bacteria responsible for serious disease when they accumulate. Your dentist can also catch developing issues early and advise proper technique.
Purchase an electric toothbrush if you haven’t already and learn proper sweeping technique, not just back-and-forth scrubbing mindlessly. Rotating from tooth-to-tooth slowly ensures every surface gets detail attention, reducing chances of cavity-causing buildup in grooves.
Commit to flossing thoroughly once daily. yes, it’s tedious, but well worth the plaque removal and anti-inflammatory benefits your gum tissue will thank you for! Just be sure to use proper technique here too focus on hugging the tooth curve and scraping plaque away, not just shoving floss roughly between teeth.
While completely overhauling diet or exercise habits feels intimidating for many folks leading busy lives, adding these three simple tweaks helps elevate your oral care from lackadaisical to therapeutic levels without much lifestyle disruption. And considering the multitude of chronic health risks posed by poor gum health, it’s one of the most valuable easy wins available. No trendy super berries required just grab your toothbrush.
