Much of what we learn, we do so from our parents, and possibly our grandparents too. Whilst we obviously go on to educate ourselves about many things, we often find that many of our deepest ingrained habits are often passed down from the generations before us.
This can even apply to the way that we look after our health, and especially our oral health. Attitudes and habits that we may have been taught, in the best of faith, may fall well short of the standards required to have good oral health care in the modern world.
Attitude to sugar
You may have heard your parents say things like ‘sugar never did me any harm’. This may or may not be true, but for many older people, sugar was a rarity and was heavily rationed during the Second World War and for several years afterwards. It is highly unlikely that most of that generation had anything like the quantity of sugar as freely available as there currently is. Even many savoury foods now contain high amounts of sugar, to say nothing of high-sugar fizzy drinks! Sugar will do you harm, and will certainly damage your teeth. Understandably we advise our Ipswich patients to cut back on their sugar intake as much as possible.
Cleaning teeth
Most of us would have been told to clean our teeth, setting us on a good daily habit of brushing our teeth in the morning and the evening. This is very positive. What may be less positive though is how we were taught to brush them. Many people focus on their teeth, and, in an attempt to keep them clean, may well brush too hard and, over time, damage the enamel, causing it to wear down and expose the dentin layer underneath. When this happens, tooth sensitivity and eventually decay are very likely to follow.
In addition to the above, few children are told to ‘clean your gums’, yet this is equally important, and, as you will have read in previous Lighthouse Dental Practice blogs, gum disease is a major cause of tooth loss in the UK, often outstripping tooth decay as the number one cause.
Old habits die hard, and many of us probably continue to brush our teeth as we were taught by our parents. Our advice for our Ipswich patients who wish to have a healthy mouth is to arrange to see the hygienist at our practice, who will be able to discuss how you clean your teeth and show you the most effective way to brush your teeth and gums.
Genetics
Although gene therapy is in its early stages, and will almost certainly bring major advances in medical care, every day we live with the genetic consequences of our DNA. We are all different in many ways, and our genetic makeup can dictate how our body responds to infections, etc.
Genes can even affect our teeth, and some people may have slightly thinner enamel on their teeth, whilst others may have deeper crevices in the teeth. With the latter, unfortunately, these often trap food and bacteria where a toothbrush can’t easily reach, making decay more likely.
As far as our genetic make-up goes, the best that we can do is to make sure that we take care of our teeth as best as we can. With good home and professional care, and perhaps a bit of luck avoiding accidents, there is no reason to believe that we can’t reach our old age with a full set of natural, healthy teeth.
To help get your oral health back on track, why not start by arranging to see a dentist at our Ipswich practice? Please call the Lighthouse Dental Practice on 01473 257 379.
We are here to help you.
If you would like to speak to a member of our friendly team about any of the issues in this article please visit our contact page or call us on 01473 257379.