Issues to fix for a better smile

The mouth is the gate way into the entire body system. Thus, maintaining it in good shape requires one to be informed on the common oral health issues in order to avoid pain, embarrassment or social neglect.
Common oral health issues include;
Tooth decay - This is the number one condition that affects our teeth, and causes pain in the mouth. A number of questions that have been asked regarding its cause, prevention, treatment.
Many people have lost at least one tooth through extraction due to this problem. We, therefore, need to keenly examine the problem and once one follows measures provided by the dentist, its prevention or progression can easily be dealt with.

There are two common causes of tooth decay which include; poor oral hygiene practices such as failure to brush your teeth as recommended by professionals and use of sugary foods and drinks.
Sensitive teeth - This is one of the key dental problems. It is caused by tooth decay, gum disease, grinding of teeth and fracture of a tooth, among others. The treatment for it depends on the cause as there are a number of treatment options.
It is, therefore, better to seek dental attention the moment you realise that your tooth is sensitive to anything.

Gum disease – This is usually caused by poor oral hygiene and it starts with tartar accumulation on your teeth which turns into hard coatings that are usually yellowish in colour.
One of the common treatments provided is professional cleaning of teeth (scaling and polishing) by a dentist. It is recommended that every individual seeks this treatment twice a year in order to get rid of such hard coatings, and also have difficult, hard-to-reach parts of the teeth cleaned.

Bad breath - This is a common dental problem. It is caused by poor oral hygiene, tooth decay, smoking, unhealthy use of alcohol, gum disease, among others. It can be prevented by practising satisfactory oral hygiene, having regular professional teeth cleaning and avoiding.
It is best to have a dental examination to ascertain the cause of a dental problem and provide the necessary treatment for a better smile.

The writer is a dentist
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