Know your teeth!

 By CRYSTAL EDMISTER
Special to the Saipan Tribune

Are your teeth, gums and mouth trying to tell you something? Did you know that if your gums bleed when you floss that probably means you have a gum tissue infection? Does your breath always seem to smell bad? Have you ever thought of brushing your tongue? These are the questions many of my patients ask me when I treat them at the Seventh-day Adventist Dental Clinic. The solutions to these common oral health problems are simple really. You need to “Know Your Teeth”! Become familiar with how to care for your mouth so you can reap the benefits of optimal oral health! How should you do this?

First of all you begin by visiting your dental office on a regular basis. The American Dental Association recommends that you see your registered dental hygienist for a prophylaxis (dental cleaning) and your dentist for a check-up every six months. This is to help keep your mouth in tiptop shape! Your hygienist will be able to clean off any hard calculus deposits that have accumulated from the time of your last dental cleaning. The hygienist will also polish and floss your teeth and give you any guidance and education you may need in properly caring for your oral health. During the dentist’s check-up, they will ask you how your mouth feels. They will check all your existing restorations (fillings and crowns, etc), read your x-rays, conduct an external and internal tissue exam, and create a treatment plan of any dental work that needs to be done. It is recommended by the ADA to have dental x-rays taken every year. Dental x-rays emit very little radiation and are very safe on a yearly basis. So call your dental office today to set up that first appointment!

The next way to become familiar with caring for your oral health is to strengthen your own personal dental knowledge bank. You can do this in many different ways. As you are aware, the Internet is full of information you just need to verify that you are reading and learning are from legitimate sites, like the American Dental Association’s website: www.ada.org. There you will find a plethora of resources. For example, there’s information on any dental condition you can think of; there are articles on the latest science and research that’s being done in the field of dentistry; there is info on dental careers, etc. It’s a really great website and I’d check it out if I were you! Another huge website resource for the public is the American Dental Hygiene Association: www.adha.org. Here one can find topics varying from caring for your oral health to dry mouth to scholarships available for prospective dental hygiene students.

As one can tell, there are a myriad of ways to help yourself “Know Your Teeth”! Take charge of your oral health! Visit your dentist today as well as one of the above mentioned dental information websites to find the solutions you need to obtain optimal dental health!

Dr. Crystal Edmister is a dentist at the Seventh-day Adventist Dental Clinic.