I’m sure all of us have lied to our dentists when they ask us if we brush and floss our teeth. That’s including me, and my own dad is my dentist.
Sure, we’ve got the brushing-twice-a-day part down (I should hope), but flossing is so… tedious. Most of us have 32 teeth (I’ve got 31), which means we’ve got 30 individual spaces we have to string a piece of floss through multiple times each. And none of us enjoy looking like idiots as we try—with our giant fingers—to shove the floss through our gaping mouths and in between our back molars.
Even with brushing our teeth, we do a piss-poor job of brushing well. While it’s good to be able to laugh about it, I strongly believe that taking care of our teeth and gums is not something we should sleep on, which is what many of us do every day.
So, here are 4 reasons why you should really start caring more about your oral health:
1. You don’t want your smile to stand between you and your soulmate.
This point isn’t only for your S.O.! Whether you’re going on a first date or going in for a job interview, you’re going to be judged. Let’s not sugarcoat anything here (haha). Your smile will either make or break your ability to make a good first impression.
Take a look at this picture:
According to Psychology Today, “when you smile, people treat you differently” because “you’re viewed as attractive, reliable, relaxed, and sincere.” If you’re trying to attract a potential partner, your smile plays a HUGE role in your success because it’s one of the first things people see when you first meet. It’s a lot of pressure, isn’t it? You could have the best personality and fit someone’s type exactly, but if your teeth aren’t healthy-looking, it can be an immediate deal-breaker. Let’s face it—poor oral hygiene doesn’t really make for a good kiss.
Even if you’re not in the dating game, your smile is just as important when you go to job interviews. Your boss will want to know that you can take good care of yourself while producing quality work. Especially if you’re applying to be some kind of representative for a company, appearance is critical. As superficial as it sounds, we can’t deny its truth.
2. Brush off those insecurities!
So many people don’t realize how influential their smiles are in their self-confidence. We don’t consider the significance of having a full set of healthy teeth until that somehow changes. It’s one reason why you probably don’t think much of oral health.
While I was working as a dental assistant this summer, I met a patient who walked in with a restrained sort of energy. As she checked in, I could tell she was trying not to show her teeth because her lips constantly tightened over them. Long story short, after I assisted in her oral surgery and gave her a mirror to see her new smiled, she beamed. The smile she unleashed was so big. She was finally free from months of constantly worrying about her smile and constantly trying to cover up her laughter with her hand. It was her biggest insecurity, more than anything else, and it was all because she didn’t take good care of her teeth.
3. Your mouth says a LOT
Something that goes over people’s heads is the fact that oral health is often directly related to systemic (overall) health.
The Mayo Clinic says that “without proper oral hygiene, bacteria can reach levels that might lead to oral infections, such as tooth decay and gum disease.” One of the most common conditions that can be linked to oral care is diabetes, which affects the body’s vessels and nerves while crippling the body’s ability to resist infection.
This image from WestHill Dental shows the effects of diabetes on oral health, specifically in the form of gum disease. This patient will likely need oral surgery and may have to get teeth extracted if the infection has damaged the gum and bone too severely.
See how taking care of your mouth isn’t just about cavities? Yeah, it might seem like those dental checkups are pointless, but what you don’t know is that your dentist is also checking for signs of issues with your systemic health.
You might be telling me now, “But my family doesn’t have a history of diabetes.” To that, I reveal to you the direct relationship between poor oral hygiene and numerous other health conditions like cardiovascular disease, endocarditis, and pneumonia—two of which are independent of genetics.
4. There’s no second chance!
Last, but most certainly not least, when you destroy your enamel, that’s it, my friend. It doesn’t grow back. For those of you who have taken an Anatomy class or are taking it now, enamel, unlike normal bone tissue, is not living tissue—being the hardest structure in the human body has its drawbacks.
When you go in to get a cavity (or cavitIES) filled, you dentist isn’t giving you more enamel, he’s filling the hole with a composite filling. Fake tooth. That’s a part of your skeleton you’re losing; you don’t get it back, and that’s terrifying (to me, at least). It’s an amputation that’s easily preventable, and I don’t see why we should slack off on that.
There is, unfortunately, a lot of stigma surrounding dental health, but I think that just emphasizes its importance even more. There’s a reason why you need very regular checkups. We’re talking about the only part of your skeleton that’s exposed, here.
So much of dentistry is about preventative care, and I believe if we all pay closer attention to our oral health, there are so many physical and mental/emotional benefits that we can take advantage of.
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