There’s more to our smiles than simply our teeth. Without the foundation of strong bone structure to protect and serve, our oral health can easily slip away.
The most positive way forward is to identify the causes and take steps to prevent the role bone loss can play in your life.
Dental bone loss is a sneaky ailment that can stay hidden for a long while and will rob you without hesitation.
What will it take from me?
Dental bone loss will take a smile with one hand and your confidence with the other.
Better to address it now.
4 Ways to Prevent Dental Bone Loss
Become a Defender
What is the optimum front-line defense? You are.
Your mouth is the doorway to oral and gut health, so it makes sense to start where it all begins.
Complete oral hygiene begins with the correct methods for brushing your teeth and removing any bacteria. Beginning a routine is easy when you know you’re doing something good for your health!
Brush for two minutes twice a day. Don’t forget to floss.
Flossing is an important step, as brushing alone may not get into all the spaces between your teeth that hide bacteria and food particles left behind.
Meticulous care will help defend against infection and more serious conditions that may lead to dental bone loss.
Keep Healthy with the Right Diet
We know that certain foods we eat will help keep us healthier in the long run, but did you know there is a direct link between the foods we consume and the prevention of future dental issues? Retaining bone strength means supporting all bone health including the foundations of our teeth.
A good diet can assist in the prevention of dental bone loss.
When bone is not receiving all the things it needs to be strong, enemy cells can activate and effectively begin to eat the existing bone.
Scary stuff? Yes, but we can help to inhibit this damage.
Be mindful to include, and increase the following.
- High Calcium foods
- Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, collard greens
- Calcium-rich foods like bone-in salmon, sardines, almonds, and dairy products such as cheese, milk and yoghurt
- Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential to restoring and keeping good bone health. This king of vitamins helps us absorb the calcium in our food. In terms of non-food related activity, the sun is an excellent supplier of vitamin D. Moderation, of course.
Focus On Lifestyle
Limiting vices will be more beneficial to your oral health. The things we crave can be affecting more than we know.
If we are what we eat, then we must also be a combination of what we do.
A few lifestyle changes may be in order.
Quit smoking
Aside from the best-known health reason to quit the two-pack-a-day merry-go-round, many people are not aware of the role smoking can play in reduced bone health. The body of a smoker may be less inclined to beneficial absorption of calcium, thus rendering them at the mercy of bone weakness and susceptibility to our friend, the thief of smiles.
Moderate alcohol consumption
Put down that glass of wine, at least for a minute while you read this.
Seriously though, the regular consumption of alcohol can result in loss of bone mass. In addition, the sugar contained in most alcoholic beverages can cause damage to your teeth and bones.
Regulate your sugar intake
Without regular and thorough oral hygiene practices, extra sugar in our diet leads to decay, bad breath, and systemic health issues.
Keep Regular Dental Appointments
One of the best ways to prevent dental bone loss is to schedule regular and consistent maintenance and stick to it.
Check-ups are exactly that: a way to check on the current state of play and to pre-empt any nasties, all with an eye on your future health.
Dr. Wilmer and her team are here to help keep your teeth looking beautiful, but it starts with regular preservation techniques, coupled with specific and specialist advice.
As life continues to keep us all busy and preoccupied, it’s imperative we make and keep dental appointments our priority.
This is a team effort.
Remember dental bone loss is a stealthy enemy.
The truth is we spend more time worrying about our car’s health than we do our own dental health.
What if we each had our own flashing warning indicators to tell us something is wrong? Would we pay more attention?
Be your own “check engine” light.
Prevent Dental Bone Loss With an Expert Dentist in Richmond, VA
Keep your dental health for life with good oral hygiene maintenance, regular dental check-ups and genuine regard for your whole-body health.
Sure, it’s a commitment, but a worthy one.
Contact us today and schedule an appointment and to talk about oral health and how it affects your whole body.