You might like your smile plenty right now, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, as we get older, caring for our teeth becomes a little more difficult as time and age can wear at them. This is especially true if there are any minor issues not causing too much trouble now, but could potentially have disastrous consequences down the line. So, what do you do now to protect your smile in the future?
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Know when you need to see a dentist
You should, hopefully, be going to the dentist for your regular checkups and cleaning. However, if you spot any signs out of the ordinary, you shouldn’t ignore them, no matter how benign they seem. Signs of unhealthy teeth can include visual signs like spotting a build-up of plaque, but they can also include intermittent symptoms you feel such as sensitivity, momentary flashes of pain, and the like. If you feel anything out of the ordinary with your teeth that you can’t immediately explain, you should talk to your dentist about it as it may be the symptom of something to be addressed further.
Take alignment issues seriously
You might think that problems to do with teeth misalignment are only really related to how you feel about how your teeth look. However, crooked teeth can affect more than just their appearance and we’re not just talking about the bite. An Invisalign dentist can help you straighten your smile, but they also address the issue of how misalignment can often lead to cases of accelerated decay. Furthermore, misaligned teeth are more likely to get damaged, chipped, and ot lead to issues like grinding your teeth.
Don’t ignore wisdom teeth
Most people who have wisdom teeth coming through experience no options with them. A lot of them don’t erupt fully and cause no pain or concern. However, then those that aren’t impacting other teeth or fully erupted can still be at a high risk of becoming infected. As such, if you feel the pressure or pain of a wisdom tooth for the first time, you should always check with your dentist about them. Even if they don’t recommend doing anything immediately, they can keep an eye on them.
Address tooth loss ASAP
If you have lost a tooth due to an accident or have had to have it removed, it might not necessarily affect the health of the rest of your teeth, immediately. However, not having a tooth can start to affect the jawbone, causing it to shrink. This can affect your other teeth and make it more difficult to fit an implant for a replacement tooth down the line. As such, you might not want to wait too long before replacing a lost tooth. It won’t become impossible, but you might need a bone grafting treatment to go along with it, which you would preferably avoid.
If you want to keep a healthy smile for years to come, you need to work for it now, both by giving them the care that they need and by investing in the treatments that will prevent further damage.
