Dental Visits And Daily Hygiene

The Best Preventive Care for Your Teeth and Gums

It doesn’t matter whether your main concern is saving your teeth or saving money. Either way, a successful game plan is likely to involve three things.

Regular dental visits are vital to help you deal with any oral problems and, just as important, to help you avoid them. A healthy diet free of excessive sugar is likely to pay off as well. The other key step to keeping your teeth and gums healthy is giving proper care to dental hygiene—particularly to brushing your teeth and flossing.

The Importance of Brushing

You probably know that bushing all areas of your teeth for two minutes at least twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste greatly reduces your risk of tooth decay. But did you know it also reduces your risk of gum disease, which can lead to tooth loss and is associated with heart disease and stroke? If you don’t brush well, plaque buildup on the gums can lead to gingivitis, an early stage of gum disease. Gingivitis is reversible in the early stages, which only underscores the importance of regular dental visits for early detection. But if plaques buildup continues, the teeth and gums can become separated, resulting in bacterial buildup, damage to the bone supporting the teeth, and, ultimately, tooth loss.

Plaque on the teeth combines with sugars and starches from food to form an acid that attacks tooth enamel, resulting in tooth decay. The best line of defense against plaque damage is brushing for at least two minutes at least twice a day. After eating is the best time to brush. Toothbrushes should always be replaced before the bristles are worn or damaged.

Flossing

Flossing picks up where brushing leaves off in helping prevent tooth decay and gum disease. While brushing removes plaque on the teeth, flossing allows you to extend your line of defense against plaque to the spaces between the teeth. This can help keep you safe from gingivitis and other gum disease that might lead to tooth loss and more serious conditions such as heart attack and stroke.

It’s recommended that you floss your teeth at least once a day. Flossing should be done gently by moving the floss up and down in the spaces between the teeth and gums. Pressure on the gums should be avoided. All sides of the teeth should be flossed.

Following a successful game plan including regular dental visits, a healthy diet, careful brushing, and daily flossing is likely to save you a lot of trouble and money.

Good preventive care usually pays off in the long run, and there’s no better preventive care for your teeth and gums than what you can do every day with your toothbrush and a strand of dental floss.
Finding the best and most affordable senior dental coverage to help you maintain the best in oral health should be another important part of your successful game plan.

Unfortunately, Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B) and Medigap won’t cover the cost of routine dental procedures or checkups, but there are affordable senior dental insurance plans to help cover costs of root canals, dentures, crowns and crown repair, treatment of the gums, cleanings, retainers, fillings, dental hygiene tips, and a lot more. Senior dental plans can help keep you healthy and save you a lot of money in the long run.

MedicareMall has been serving our clients for over 20 years, and we’re eager to go over all the senior dental care options with you, answer any questions, help find you the dental insurance plan that’s right for you, and guide you through the enrollment process. Contact us now and let us help you keep that winning smile for many years to come.