Importance of Maintaining Your Teeth

Teeth Maintenance Can Help Your Smile Age Gracefully

With the advances in medical technology allowing us to live longer, healthier lives, it is important to make sure our teeth can live the extra years with us. While it has been a normal for individuals 60 and older to begin losing their teeth and use replacements such as denture, advances in oral health technology and better oral hygiene is allowing more and more elderly individuals hang on to their natural teeth. Keeping all of this in mind, having proper oral health is more important than ever.

There is a popular saying regarding older individuals that is directly related to oral health – being “long in the teeth” is used to refer to someone who is older in age but it also refers to how the gums naturally wear away and recede as a person ages. This leaves the much softer root of the teeth exposed which makes it more susceptible to dental decay than the rest of the tooth that is covered by enamel for protection. Dental disease is accumulated over a lifetime and almost all adults aged 65 and older have cavities in their permanent teeth, which is why continued oral maintenance is so important.

It is also important to note that many of the hundreds of different medications that seniors take on a daily basis list dry mouth as a side effect. A lack of saliva in the mouth also leaves the teeth vulnerable to tooth decay, making proper oral health maintenance and regular dental check-ups even more important. Studies show that individuals who have dental insurance are more likely to have regular cleanings and doctor’s visits than individuals who do not – since many older individuals are retired, they may not have dental insurance, which is crucial to maintaining proper oral health and their natural teeth.

While dental care is important for those with their natural teeth, it is also important for those individuals who use dentures or other false teeth. Proper dental hygiene helps dentures and other oral prosthetics fit properly so they are comfortable. It can also help to prevent infections and other oral maladies. Additionally, regular dentist office visits, even with dentures, can help medical professionals identify any problems the individual may have as well as helping to detect life-threatening conditions such as oral cancers before they become a larger problem.

If you live in the New Hampshire area and need dental coverage, consider using Wellness Dental Plan. This is a New Hampshire dental plan that can offset as much as 20 percent of annual and emergency dental care bills. For more information about our plans, please click here.

*Photo Courtesy of Pink Sherbet Photography via Creative Commons License