By Emma 
There are a lot of aspects to keeping your family healthy, but one you don’t want to overlook is oral health. Let’s face it: no one wants to be woken up in the middle of the night by a child (not to mention a spouse) screaming with tooth pain. Wouldn’t it be great if you could avoid those kinds of situations and the emergency dentist appointments that come with them?
While you can’t guarantee any more emergencies, you can reduce the risk of your family suffering from unexpected tooth pain when you understand common oral health problems and treatment. It’s never too early to start monitoring oral health and developing habits for good oral hygiene. Your family will thank you!
Table of Contents
Most Common Problem: Cavities and Tooth Decay
The most common oral health concerns facing families are the ordinary but potentially painful cases of tooth decay, including cavities. Tooth decay can come from improper or insufficient oral hygiene practices, like not flossing teeth well or often enough, but it can also stem from a variety of conditions or predispositions.
Regardless of the cause or origin of tooth decay, it is important to treat it. Cavities should be removed and then filled in as soon as possible. Replacing cavities with dental fillings is a regular process, but it is critical. Letting decay stay in the mouth can lead to worse problems as the problem could spread or get infected. When decay progresses to the nerve of the tooth, a root canal is typically needed. You can avoid this much more expensive and painful process by removing the decay earlier.
While treating tooth decay is relatively simple when it is caught early enough, it’s best to minimize decay altogether. Steps to preserve good oral hygiene are, unsurprisingly, regularly and thoroughly brushing and flossing the teeth.
Brushing should be done in a circular motion to cover all the surfaces of the teeth as well as the gums and tongue. In family settings, parents will need to teach their children this habit and monitor the brushing and flossing efforts of their younger children, giving assistance as necessary. The more parents invite and model good oral hygiene, the more natural it will be for children to adopt it as their habit.
Be Aware: Overbites, Underbites, and Other Alignment Concerns
Besides cavities, another common problem when it comes to oral health for your family concerns teeth and smile alignment. Overbites and underbites are the most recognizable and familiar of these problems, but there are other concerns that can come up in this area. It’s important to be aware of how your family’s oral health may not be all clear even if no one has any cavities. Misaligned teeth aren’t aesthetically pleasing; and this can also potentially lead to discomfort, especially for children with smaller jaws.
Straightening and moving teeth can be done with several treatment methods, all of which must first be recommended by a qualified dentist. Braces are a typical solution for alignment concerns, but there are other ways to straighten teeth.
Make sure to get a personalized opinion from your dentist St George about what would be best for your circumstances. Dental alignment treatments are typically long-term investments that require a person to follow the guidelines from the dentist, such as when to wear retainers or removable aligners.
Watch Out: The Prevalence of Gum Disease
If you’re watching out for some of the most common oral health concerns that could affect your family, you need to be aware of gum disease. Gum disease, or officially periodontal disease, starts with gingivitis, where gums are inflamed.
This redness and swelling may escalate to bleeding. Periodontal disease can progress to periodontitis with dramatic effects up to losing teeth because of infection. Gum disease is a huge concern for most of America; according to the CDC, periodontal disease and tooth decay are present in almost half of adults aged 30 and older. This may be you, so talk to your dentist to see if you have gum disease and hear your next recommended steps.
If you want to avoid members of the family getting gum disease, first recognize that this is a condition typically only seen in adults, with signs such as painful chewing, bad breath, and tender gums. Smoking, stress, defective fillings, and poor oral hygiene increase the risk of contracting disease, but luckily, healthy oral habits and regular cleanings can prevent gingivitis.
According to the American Dental Association (ADA), flossing significantly reduces the likelihood of gum disease and further tooth decay. So keep brushing and flossing, and don’t forget the other important steps listed below.
In Essence: Go to the Dentist
While there are a variety of possible oral health scenarios that can come up in a family, ultimately, the answer to almost every problem is the same: go to the dentist. Having regular standing dental check-ups for each member of the family is the best way to stay on top of oral hygiene. Many insurances cover biannual checkups, but if you can’t afford regular dental care, there are other resources, like support from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Try to get each member of your family to the dentist at least once, if not twice, a year, with more frequent visits as necessary or for those with underlying conditions. Of course, any family members with corrective treatments such as braces will likely have appointments with an orthodontist to manage as well. It can be a lot, but as long as your family actively prioritizes oral health, you can minimize the risk of dealing with the most common problems, while increasing your chance of recognizing conditions early on.
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