Take control of your dental health to break the disease cycle

This is branded content for Tamworth Complete Dental.

If you had a heart attack and needed a triple bypass to get back on your feet it's highly likely you would set about changing your lifestyle to prevent it from happening again.

Unfortunately, when it comes to dental health many people don't have the same attitude. They turn up for appointment after appointment with their dentist to have decays filled or have gum-disease causing plaque removed but then spend little time in between thinking about how their habits contribute to the problems.

Tamworth dentist Vera Stephenson is concerned that too many people are trapped in a cycle of treating the symptoms of dental diseases rather than learning how to actively manage and help to prevent them with some lifestyle changes.

"Going to the dentist and getting a lot of treatment done doesn't actually mean you don't have the disease anymore," she said.

"When you get a hole in your tooth and we do a filling we're patching the symptom of the disease but if people understood the disease process and realised the risk factors contributing to it they could make changes to prevent the hole getting there in the first place.

"Sometimes we feel like we're fighting with one hand tied behind our back because we're just patching things up while people aren't willing to make the changes in their life that could help manage and stabilise the disease. We want to shift that focus and help our patients on their oral health journey."

Decay and gum disease are the two most common diseases dentists see in their daily work with patients.

Gum disease is usually caused by a build-up of plaque on teeth and along the gum line. The immune system tries to get rid of plaque with an inflammation response which is seen as redness and swelling of the gum around the tooth.

If left unchecked gum disease can lead to deterioration of the bone and loss of teeth. Plaque is constantly being formed by bacteria in your mouth when they feed on the sugary or starchy foods like milk, juice, soft drinks, bread, pasta and fruit that you consume.

Decay occurs as a result of your teeth's depletion of minerals caused by your body's salivary process leaving them vulnerable to attack by acids formed in your mouth by sugar-loving bacteria.

Fortunately, there are some simple changes you can make to your lifestyle with diet and the way you eat, as well as your dental hygiene routine, that can reduce the factors creating the perfect environment in your mouth for disease, says Dr Stephenson who owns and operates Tamworth Complete Dental.

"What we're seeing in modern medicine is that we're living longer but we are getting sicker and paying for the price of the convenience lifestyle that we live, and it's almost become normalised to have fillings," she said.

"Enamel is the hardest thing nature has created in a biological organism so for that to collapse in on itself gives you an idea of how unbalanced our body can get and how important it is to take responsibility for your health.

"You still see people having fillings every five years or so and that's not necessary."

While limiting sugary foods and simple carbs that the bacteria in your mouth turns into acid is ideal, when you eat them can also help to protect your teeth, says Dr Stephenson.

Avoid snacking in between meals on food like biscuits and chips, or extended sipping on sugary drinks like soft drinks, sweetened tea or coffee, and flavoured coffees that are continuing flushing your mouth with carbs and sugar.

"Every time we have simple carbohydrates the bacteria breaks that down and turns it into lactic acid," Dr Stephenson said.

"What is better is to bundle up all your carbs into your main meals and try to give teeth a break. And then flush your mouth out with water afterwards to neutralise the acid. You want to reduce how frequently you're hitting your teeth with acid to try and give them a chance to remineralise in between those hits."

When it comes to brushing your teeth, just before bed is the most important to stave off decay and gum disease.

"We joke, 'Brush in the morning to keep your friends, and brush at night to keep your teeth," said Dr Stephenson.

"The reason we brush is to try to reset the bacteria in our mouth. If you're not brushing at night anything left in there has those eight hours or so to do damage to your teeth."

At Tamworth Complete Dental, we believe that change starts with us. We work together with our patients so that they can re-take control over their own oral health, to understand their disease and its causes rather than just accepting treatment. To find out more or to book an appointment call 02 6766 1036 or visit tamworthcompletedental.com.au