Irish people tend to have a poor reputation when it comes to looking after our oral health. In a survey conducted by the Irish Dental Association in 2014, they found that 58% of people don’t visit the dentist until they need emergency treatment. Our own David Murnaghan was asked what we need to know about our teeth and why should we look after them? Here are 11 interesting facts about our teeth!
- Gum disease is the most common and among the least acknowledged health problems in Europe where 8 out of 10 people aged 35 and over have it. Symptoms include loose teeth, gums that pull away, and painful chewing. These symptoms are all related to a disease also known as periodontitis.
- Gum disease has the potential to heighten your risk of stroke and heart disease, two of Ireland’s biggest killers. Bacteria can enter the circulation through your gums and bind to fatty plaques in blood vessels, restricting blood flow to your heart and raising blood pressure.
- Gum disease can increase the risk of failure in hip and knee replacements. Patients with gum disease had DNA from their plaque identified in their squeaking mechanical joints, which could be why replacements fail when no local infection is found.
- It’s important to look after your children’s teeth. Approximately 10,000 children go under general anesthetic for extractions – a traumatic and painful experience for a young child – so protect their teeth from the beginning to avoid this event.
- Sparkling water is not as bad as you may think – There is a minimal amount of acidity in it; the pH in still water is 7, sparkling water is 4, orange juice is 3.5, and Coke is 2.5.
- Chronic headaches could be a symptom of TMD – Temporomandibular disorder is a jaw disorder that is quite common in-clinic. A common cause of this disorder is teeth grinding, which may be a common response to stress which we may be doing unknowingly, most often during a night’s sleep.
- Veneers can cause more harm than good – All restorative dental work, where a damaged tooth is built up to look like new, damages it further. Your teeth are then wafer thin, making you lose enamel that you will never get back.
- Crowns and veneers don’t last a lifetime – The average lifespan of a crown is 10 to 15 years. Therefore, dentists stress the importance of good oral hygiene because keeping your own teeth healthy for as long as possible really is the best possible outcome for your health and wallet.
- Dentists can be your go-tos for facial aesthetics such as Botox and filler – Dentists carry out facial injections all the time. Being students of facial anatomy, they have an eye for enhancing people’s features, rather than changing them entirely.
- Yellow teeth are not unhealthy – As we age, our teeth yellow so its not a sign of disease. If you have the whitest set of artificial teeth in your mouth, you will have to keep whitening your natural teeth continuously to achieve a balanced smile colour.
- Dental work overseas is not always a good idea – According to the Irish Dental Association, 6,000 patients a year return to Irish dentists with problems from overseas dental care – Remember that a local dentist will always have your best interests at heart.