Why Flossing and Dental Cleanings Matter at Every Age

Most people know how important it is to brush your teeth, with many brushing up to two times per day: once at night and once in the morning. Flossing, however, is one of the daily habits that can often get overlooked despite it playing a major role in maintaining long term oral health. Without flossing, brushing only cleans about 60% of your tooth structure: the chewing surfaces, the front, and the back of the teeth. It misses the tight spaces between your teeth and underneath the gumline. Without properly cleaning this area, food and plaque builds up over time, which can lead to a variety of different dental problems.

Preventing Cavities

One reason flossing is important is to prevent cavities. Tooth decay often starts between the teeth, and flossing is a major defense against that. By removing the plaque, you reduce the risk of decay and requiring dental treatment in the future. Whether you have had a dental filling done in the past, or even a crown, it is still important to floss those teeth. The tooth structure underneath the fillings or crowns are still susceptible to plaque accumulation, which can still lead to cavities.

Preventing Gum Disease

A major dental problem that regular flossing can help prevent is gum disease. When you don’t floss and the plaque remains between the teeth, over time this can harden into tartar also known as calculus. This tartar irritates the gums and leads to inflammation. This is an early stage of gum disease known as gingivitis. It presents as redness or soreness of the gums, and may bleed easily when brushing or flossing. When plaque turns into tarter, brushing or flossing alone is unable to remove it; only a professional cleaning at the dentist can remove the tartar with specialized instruments.

If gingivitis is left untreated, it can progress to periodontitis. This is a more severe condition that affects the soft tissue and the bone surrounding the teeth. Due to the bone loss around the teeth, they can become loose and potentially lead to tooth loss.

Gum Disease & The Body

Gum disease isn’t only localized to your mouth; it can affect other areas of your body as well. Gingivitis and periodontitis create inflammation and bacteria in the gums, this bacteria can then enter the bloodstream and affect other parts of the body. Gum disease is also known to have connections to heart health, diabetes, and respiratory health. Further studies are emerging with possible links to complications in pregnancy. Many of these relationships are still being studied; however, the main point of emphasis with each one is how chronic inflammation can affect the different areas of the body.

Dental Cleanings at Every Age

Keeping up with regular dental cleanings and checkups are a great way to not only take care of your oral health, but also take care of your whole body. Getting dental cleanings at every age is important for many different reasons.

Kids

Kids are at an age where they are losing baby teeth and also gaining new permanent teeth. It is crucial to stay on top of their cleanings to keep the gums healthy, and prevent getting cavities on new permanent teeth that they will keep for the rest of their lives.

As kids transition into their teenage years, inconsistent home care and hormones can play a big part in their oral health. These two things increase the likelihood a teen will have gingivitis. On top of that, many teens begin to go through orthodontic treatment, such as braces. This adds an extra challenge to keep their teeth clean and minimize the amount of inflammation in the gums.

Adults

Getting regular cleanings for adults is important to keep the gum disease risk low. An added factor that adults may have that influence their oral health is increased stress at home or at work. They are also more likely to have more dental work done in the past that they want to keep healthy and prevent the need for future treatment. 

For women, pregnancy greatly affects their oral health. Pregnancy affects hormones in the body, which can increase the risk for gingivitis. Some other common oral health effects during pregnancy are an increased risk of cavities, dry mouth, sensitivity, and pregnancy tumors. Morning sickness affects the teeth by exposing them to acid, which then can erode the enamel and make the outside of the tooth weaker. Regular dental cleanings and checkups are crucial to help prevent, diagnose, or treat gingivitis, decay, or any other oral health conditions.

Elderly

Lastly, the elderly have different conditions that may affect their oral health as well. Many seniors have dry mouth, which impacts both the teeth and the gums. It removes the mouth’s primary defense—saliva. Without saliva washing away excess food or neutralizing bacterial acid, the gums and teeth are at a higher risk for inflammation and decay. As we age, our gums recede which exposes a weaker portion of our tooth. This part of the tooth is not as strong and is more susceptible to decay.

In Conclusion

During a professional cleaning, the hygienist or dentist will use their specialized instruments to remove the plaque and calculus from your teeth. This helps to remove bacteria from your mouth and to reduce inflammation. The dentist will also complete a thorough examination of the teeth, gums, bite and jaw, as well as an oral cancer screening.