20 Nov How teeth cleaning affects your entire body
When your dentist recommends to floss your teeth and brush twice daily, it isn’t just because they want to see you keeping your pearly whites as bright as they may come. Our dentists don’t just care about the glitz and glamour looks of your bright whites, but they are actually trying to bring focus to something deeper than that – we’re talking roots deep.
As much as we care about the the functionality and cosmetic appearance of your teeth, equally important, our dental team cares about the health of your teeth, gums, tongue and total oral health. Reason being is because your teeth are connected to your entire body’s system of health, through the bloodstream.
Your teeth are directly connected to your bloodstream and below the surface of the gum-lines, lays risk of infections that could reveal larger health concerns if not caught soon enough. An infection starting with your tooth or gums could potentially lead to infections in other areas of your body or increase risk of Alzheimers, cardiovascular diseases, or diabetes to name a few.
How do most infections start?
Most often, an infection can start with biofilm. Biofilm is a sticky and colourless film made up of bacteria that coats your teeth. When biofilm has matured and spread enough to be seen by the naked eye, that is what we know of as plaque.
Biofilm is the main cause for:
- Cavities, bad breath, tooth loss, implant loss
- Gingivitis = gum bleeding
- Periodontal disease = gum infections, receding gums
Improper care or awareness can risk bacteria and infection leading to your bloodstream, which can increase chances of larger health issues such as:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Alzheimers
- Diabetes
- Premature birth
- Respiratory disorders
- and more
How to get rid of biofilm
Simply put, proper care of your oral health. At home, brushing, flossing, using mouthwash, and regularly rinsing after eating helps to reduce traces of Biofilm. To find out if you’re missing areas or if Biofilm is still present even with your healthy at-home habits, a trip to the dentist for a GBT cleaning (Guided Biofilm Therapy cleaning) will give you a good indication.
Our new Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT) service that is now offered standard in all of our hygiene appointments, are a great visual indication of the levels of biofilm in your mouth. Using a purple coating on your teeth, we will see an immediate visual indication on how well you are cleaning at home. Following initial assessment, the hygiene team will use our new EMS Airflow technology, which provides you a pleasant and relaxing teeth-cleaning experience using a combination of warm water, air, and non-abrasive cleaning powder (Erythritol). To learn more about GBT, click below.
how a visit to the dentist can help
Maintaining a regular routine at home and to the dental office is your best course of action. Not only can the hygienist and their cleaning methods assist you with deeper cleans between your regular home care, but your dentist can also spot any signals if there are larger health concerns that need to be addressed.