Dental care

Dental care refers to the special responsibilities that go into the basic maintenance of a person’s mouth—specifically the teeth, gums, and tongue—which is critical for introducing nourishment into the body. Dental care is designed to prevent a range of oral traumas—most notably tooth decay, in which acids (by-products of sugary and starchy foods) eat away at the tooth’s enamel and can eventually create holes (or cavities) in the interior surface of the tooth’s structure.

Cavities, however, are among the most easily preventable medical problems. Dentists have long pointed out that, given their structure and their physical composition, teeth are actually designed to last a lifetime. With daily maintenance routines and some general precautions in lifestyle choices, such as restricting sugar and avoiding tobacco products, it should be relatively easy to keep teeth and gums healthy. Failure to uphold such basic dental care procedures can lead to painful and expensive procedures to rectify damage and even loss of teeth.

Background

For more than seventy-five years, the American Dental Association (ADA) has developed a nationwide campaign for dental care that has stressed prevention. The goal of dental care is to ensure the proper function and health of the mouth. Prevention is largely the responsibility of home care, and professional recommendations include brushing twice a day, preferably first in the morning and before bed to help eliminate plaque, a sticky and pasty bacterial buildup that can form on teeth that are not brushed regularly. Brushing should be complete and thorough—the ADA recommends two minutes—and many toothbrushes now even have computerized timers. Since the 1990s, a revolution in spinning head electric toothbrushes has greatly increased the effectiveness of brushing as the motion helps clean between teeth and within the irregular fissions on a tooth’s surface. In addition, flossing once a day helps clean between the teeth where brushes cannot reach, and rinsing with a fluoride mouthwash helps create a bacteria-free mouth.

The rest of dental-care protocols center on diet and lifestyle choices—cutting down on sugary snacks and carbonated beverages; eating a diet rich in grains, vegetables, and fruits; avoiding excessive use of alcohol and tobacco; and getting sufficient calcium to maintain the tooth’s structural integrity. At the same time, with the emergence of holistic medicine and homeopathic treatments, home dental care has experienced a revolution as people reevaluate diet and its relationship to dental care. However, in an era of dental white strips and whitening toothpaste that promise dazzling cosmetic effects, the ADA has begun to caution that white teeth do not necessarily mean healthy teeth.

As part of regular and effective dental care, the ADA has long recommended visiting a dentist twice a year as a way to check on any problems that might escape detection and might pose more significant problems if left untreated. The dentist, using x-rays and other computer imaging technology, can diagnose a range of tooth and gum issues that can be treated by procedures that include cavity restoration with fillings; ceramic, porcelain, or alloy crowns (capping the entire top of a badly infected tooth as a way to preserve the tooth); bridges (in which artificial replacements fix gaps where teeth are missing); root canal (in which the dentist cuts beneath the gums to repair the underlying network of nerves that maintain the health of a tooth’s root); and, in the most extreme cases, tooth extraction. In addition, the dentist can test for any gum disease, such as gingivitis and pyorrhea and prescribe medications or give recommendations for better and more targeted brushing. The ADA recommends that the first dentist visit should occur after the appearance of a child’s first tooth.

Impact

Despite a massive public awareness campaign that, since the mid-1940s, has worked to make the public aware of the importance of dental care, the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that, as of 2012, nearly 100 percent of adults worldwide had at least one cavity. In the United States alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of 2012, 91 percent of Americans over the age of twenty have had cavities at some time in their lives. The WHO also reported that globally, about 30 percent of individuals over the age of sixty-five have no natural teeth at all.

Dental care specialists typically cite three persistent problems to widespread successful dental care. Firstly, dental work is expensive, and most often insurance carriers require extra insurance packages to cover basic dental care. That layer of financial worry can keep those in the lower income ranges from pursuing regular dental care. Even with the advent of the ambitious national program geared toward providing medical insurance to the widest number of Americans (the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare), many find professional dental care a luxury rather than a necessity. Secondly, there are not enough dentists. The ADA has worked since the 1990s to address the inequity between the number of patients requiring dental care and the number of dental professionals available to provide that care. Despite developing programs for dental hygienists who are able to perform many of the routine check-up procedures for the dentist, there are geographical areas—specifically inner city neighborhoods, small towns, and remote rural areas—where dental care is difficult to access. Finally, many people struggle with the ingrained popular notion that dental care is a stressful and anxiety-producing procedure, despite achievements in dental protocols since the 1980s that have revolutionized dental procedures and minimized patient discomfort. To many, a trip to the dentist is associated with pain, and given the choice, many defer seeking treatment until there is actually discomfort in the mouth.

Bibliography

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McGowan, Michele M., Bernard J. Healey, and Tina Evans. "Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Extending Dental Care Coverage to Medicare Beneficiaries." Allied Academies International Conference: Proceedings of the Academy for Economics & Economic Education 19.1 (2016): 2–9. Print.

Nagel, Ramiel. Cure Gum Diseases Naturally: Heal and Prevent Periodontal Diseases and Gingivitis with Whole Foods. Montpelier: Golden Child, 2015. Print.

"New CDC Statistics Show Need for Increased Access to Dental Care, with a Greater Emphasis on Preventing Disease." American Dental Association. ADA, 13 May 2015. Web. 24 Aug. 2016.

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