Our personality is something we are most concerned about. In our personality, the first impression goes by our smile. It does matter how impressive our articulation is and how neat and clean we are. Oral hygiene is highly important as it discloses our overall impact.
Let’s suppose, you are a socially active person and want to throw a party, and have long chats with friends. Suddenly you realize that they are not willing to accompany you. It means something is off about you. It is also possible that they avoid you because of some unpleasant smell coming from your mouth or your teeth are not cleaned properly.
All these matters would affect your social well-being. Just because of the poor condition of your teeth and dental area, you would be avoided by your friends and close ones. It can make you feel embarrassed and demotivated.
 |
| Pointing out the oral problem leads to the betterment of your oral health. |
Compromised oral hygiene and general health complications
Oral hygiene is crucially significant for having a healthy personality. It affects human health in real-time. Poor oral hygiene can affect health negatively. Oral hygiene is highly associated with general health. It helps a person to not fall sick and maintain a well-settled lifestyle.
Our mouth is full of microbes in particularly bacteria and fungi. These can be harmless but if we keep on feeding them with free sugars, processed foods, and other harmful products, the bad microbes can outgrow and cause sickness and discomfort.
What is halitosis?
Halitosis is the simplest yet common manifestation of poor oral hygiene. It is manifested in bad breath. Bad breath can be very uncomfortable. It can remove us from a tag of a popular person as no one wants to be a friend with an unpleasant aura.
Who are at high risk of poor oral hygiene?
Different studies show that men and children are at higher risk of getting these diseases. They behave differently to external factors. Moreover, they are attracted to unhealthy eating habits.
Financial instability is also a causative factor for not getting regular health checkups. People belonging to financially disadvantaged countries are more sensitive to dental health problems.
Possible reasons for getting dental issues can be as follows,
- Excessive availability of fluorides in the water supply chain
- Excessive amounts of fluorides and chemicals in toothpaste and dental care products
- Availability of cheap food items with excessive amounts of sugar and chemicals
- Unavailability of health care centers for routine checkups for mouth and teeth
- Expensive and time taking treatment protocols
- Overuse of antibiotics or pain relief medicines in case of toothaches
- Overuse of sweet beverages
- Overuse of tobacco and alcohol
- Sedentary lifestyle
 |
| Brushing teeth twice a day can help teeth live longer and be healthy. |
Fluorides are now a big concern. These are supplied in water and other products and it makes teeth sensitive. Moreover, whenever sugar is made available in an amount above normal it is highly injurious to teeth.
Management of dental issues is usually not covered in insurance plans offered by a local government. People have to pay for it. That’s why they ignore dental symptoms until their teeth are in bad condition.
Facts and figures about dental diseases
Dental diseases are quite common. They affect almost every person at least once in a lifetime. It can be a mild toothache, caries, or dental trauma.
As per data collected for the global burden of diseases study 2019, an average of 3.5 billion people are patients with dental issues.
Dental problems are more common in kids with a figure of 500 million. They usually get these problems in their primary teeth.
Adults face dental diseases in their permanent teeth at an average of 2 billion due to the reasons mentioned above.
A good percentage of the adult population goes through some sort of orodental trauma. This can be serious and medical attention-seeking.
A good and encouraging fact about dental diseases is that these can be controlled at the initial stage. They can be managed by good hygienic practices, proper diagnosis, medication, and preventive strategies including the intake of nutrients required by the body.
Types of dental diseases
Dental diseases are of different types and severities. Some are so mild that they can be managed just by maintaining good hygiene. Others are severe and need appropriate medical attention. Some are not serious while few are quite severe and can even cause death. However, every symptom is considerable and manageable if we get to know them early.
The types of common oral problems are as follow
- Tooth decay ( Dental caries )
- Gum diseases ( Periodontal issues )
- Orodental trauma
- Noma
- Cleft lip and palate
- Oral cancer
 |
| The dentist knows how to fix your teeth problems! |
Tooth decay ( Dental caries )
The most common form of dental disease is tooth decay. It is manifested by the formation of plaque. Plaque is like a layer of stubborn stains on teeth and gums. This is caused by acid production that affects teeth.
As we already discussed that there are many types of bacteria in our mouths. They feed on different types of trapped food particles. They consume free sugars found in sweet products (both processed and cooked), beverages (cola products and alcoholic), and organic products with high glucose levels. They convert the glucose molecules into acids and those acids are exposed to the teeth of a person who doesn’t brush his teeth twice a day. After a longer exposure dental caries is formed.
Other than free sugars exposure, prolonged exposure to fluorides and chemicals, hurrying while brushing teeth, usage of old toothbrushes, no regular visits to the dentist, and persistent plaques damage teeth to a great extent by reoccurring infections, discoloration, and tooth loss.
An average of 2 billion population face dental caries.
Gum diseases (Periodontal problems)
In this type of dental illness, the patient feels inflammation and swelling in the gums. They can also face the problem of halitosis. This is mainly inflammation of tissues surrounding the teeth.
This can be controlled earlier but in case it is left without attention, it gets a serious form of gingivitis. The space between teeth and gums is increased. Abnormal space in gum tissues and teeth, eventually causes the teeth to become loose and in severe cases fall out.
Gingivitis is caused by tobacco consumption and not practicing a dental care routine. It affects more than one billion people globally covering 14 percent of the total adult population.
Orodental trauma
This group of oral diseases covers all the injuries affecting the oral cavity, teeth, and mouth. It is mainly due to some trauma that affects teeth. It has variable effects. Some are short-lived and reversible. Others are long-lasting along with a detailed protective approach for complete rehabilitation.
Orodental trauma can be due to the following reasons
- Unaligned teeth that need to visit a dentist
- Road accidents and unhealthy adventurous experiments
- Exposing teeth to unhealthy environments for a long time
- Use of teeth for opening some hard object
If the injury is serious as caused by some accident, it can even lead to some surgery. It can result in changes in facial features and can lower the quality of life.
As per studies, 20 percent of the total population comes across orodental trauma once in a lifetime.
Noma
Noma is a condition in which gangrenous ulcers are produced in the oral cavity and face. Children are more prone to this serious condition at the age of two to six years.
There are four main risk factors for Noma as follows,
- Deficiency of balanced diet and nutrients
- Weak immune system
- Exposure to infectious agents
- Poverty and poor oral hygiene
It was reported to be found mostly in sub-Saharan countries however now it is found in many counties including Asia and Latin America.
The initial symptoms of this sinister disease are soreness of gums, and lesions in the mouth. If uncontrolled these lesions convert into necrotic gingivitis.
Noma is a high-risk disease and if not covered in earlier days, can lead to death. If the proper medical protocol is followed, the survivor has to face a lot of complications that can affect his/ her quality of life. Those effects can be disfigured facial features, tooth loss, psychological trauma, and social controversy due to facial disfigurement.
According to surveys 0.14 million new cases of Noma are reported annually but they can be managed with proper administration protocol, availability of nutrients, and improved dental hygiene practices.
Cleft lip and palate
These are mostly birth defects and are mainly predisposed by genetic susceptibility. These are also known as craniofacial defects or orofacial clefts۔ It is manageable if diagnosed early and taken care of. If left uncontrolled can cause death in the earlier period of life of children.
Maternal health stability, intake of a balanced diet, and no use of tobacco and alcohol during pregnancy play an important role in its prevention
Fortunately, orofacial clefts can be fixed by dentists. After surgery and follow-up, a person can live a normal life.
The prevalence of such cases is about one case in 1000-1500 births.
Oral cancer
Overuse of chemical substances is the main cause of oral cancer which affects the oropharynx, mouth, and lips.
It can also be caused by infectious agents such as Papillomavirus.
0-20 cases are reported annually per 0.1 million people globally. Incidence can be varied as per the financial and environmental conditions of a specific country.
Take home message
Oral health is important for cosmetic purposes as well as general health. If we do not pay attention to our dental health and avoid visits to dentists due to financial conditions, it can affect us in the long run. No pain is without a reason so whenever your tooth is in pain, you must consider it and have a detailed visit to a reputable dentist.
 |
| Your smile is brighter when your teeth are happy! |
In the next episode of oral hygiene and its importance, we’ll discuss the effect of poor oral health on overall body condition. We will also discuss what other diseases are linked with dental hygiene.
Any comments or suggestions on this topic would be cordially welcomed and appreciated.
0 Comments