Why Regular Dental Cleanings Are Essential for Your Overall Health

Taking care of your teeth isn’t just about having a sparkling smile. It’s also essential for maintaining your overall physical health. While brushing and flossing at home are good for you, your good health may require one step further. That is, taking yourself to a dental clinic for a professional dental cleaning.

Yes, regular visits to your dentist will benefit your teeth and gums, but they can also prevent a whole range of health issues. Your teeth and mouth are, after all, connected to various other parts of the body.

Let’s explore why dental cleanings should be a priority in your healthcare routine.

The Main Benefits of Regular Dental Cleanings

You have plenty of reasons for maintaining a regular schedule of dental cleanings. Once every six months is the recommended frequency for undergoing professional dental cleanings. Only people with excellent oral health can stretch that frequency to once a year. The benefits are many, such as:

Avoiding cavities and gum disease

Plaque, a sticky film of bacteria, constantly forms on your teeth. If not removed through proper cleaning, it hardens into tartar. This leads to cavities and gum disease. The latter, in particular, is a leading cause of tooth loss in adults.

Regular professional cleanings remove plaque and tartar effectively from hard-to-reach areas. They give extra protection that flossing and mouth-washing may not be enough to cover.

Detecting oral health issues early

When you go for a dental cleaning, the dental professionals will examine your mouth thoroughly. Dentists and hygienists can spot early signs of problems, from cavities to oral cancer. Catching these issues early can make the treatments less painful later.

Furthermore, many oral treatments can cost a lot of money. Regular checkups save you from more serious complications, which may cause you to spend a lot of money down the road.

Keeping breath fresh and smile bright

Bacteria doesn’t only cause plaque; it’s also a culprit for bad breath that just won’t go away. The persistent “bad breath” condition, called halitosis, requires regular cleanings to remove the bacteria buildup.

If you’re a regular coffee drinker or a smoker, going for dental cleanings is even more crucial. Professional polishing can eliminate surface stains caused by the things you consume, leaving you with a cleaner, brighter smile.

How Oral Health Affects Overall Health

Have you ever thought about what areas of the body your mouth connects to? 

The oral connection

The most obvious connections start from the digestive system. After the teeth break down food into smaller pieces, you swallow and pass them through the esophagus to the stomach. The stomach further digests food, reaching the small intestine, where nutrients from the digested food are absorbed in the small intestine.

Less obvious but equally vital is the connection to the respiratory system. Your mouth is part of it, as it allows for the passage of air into and out of the lungs. Another connection leads to the nervous system, where the brain controls the muscles involved in chewing and swallowing, as well as the sensory nerves that provide taste and touch sensations. Meanwhile, your spinal cord transmits signals between the brain, muscles, and nerves in your mouth.

There are other connections your mouth has to the immune, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems and more. Because of this connection, the state of your oral health will affect the rest of your body. 

Impacts of the Oral Connection

Keeping your oral health in top shape means maintaining your overall physical health. Going for regular dental cleanings will benefit your body in many ways. Look at the following examples.

• Detecting heart health issues: Gum disease, in particular, is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Inflammation and bacteria may enter the bloodstream, causing these cardiovascular issues. So, keep your gums clean to reduce this risk.

• Managing diabetes: High blood sugar levels can increase the risk of gum disease. Untreated gum infections also make it harder to control blood sugar. Manage gum health by making regular dental visits so you can manage diabetes more efficiently.

• Boosting the immune system: Chronic gum infections or untreated cavities drain your body’s resources, making it hard to fight other illnesses. By caring for yourself orally, you’re giving your immune system a boost.

Conclusion

Regular dental cleanings prevent much more than cavities, gum disease, and bad breath. Because the mouth is connected to other systems in your body, regular dental cleanings contribute to better health to avoid other health complications, like heart disease and diabetes. Invest in dental cleanings for your overall health.

Schedule your next professional cleaning with our St. George Dental Office today. Make dental cleanings your routine for a healthy life.