For people in the United States (and around the world), dental issues are not uncommon. Dental issues range from purely cosmetic to ones that cause significant pain and can actually negatively affect a person’s overall quality of life. However, going to visit a dentist can help you get back on the path to dental health. A dental professional can help to fix existing dental issues but can also help to educate people about the habits of good dental hygiene and care that will lead to good dental health for years to come.
For example, correct tooth brushing technique is more important than one might think, and it means placing the toothbrush at a 45 degree angle and gently moving the bristles. Moving the bristles too harshly can actually have a detrimental affect on the health of your gums and teeth. It is also important to floss a couple time a day. Only just over 20% of all people in the United States say that they floss regularly.
Because of a number of factors, from lax dental hygiene habits to, simply, bad genetics, cavities are common among people in the United States. In fact, nearly 80% of total population of the United States has had at least one cavity by the time that they are seventeen years old. At least one out of every five Americans has a cavity that has not been treated, and this can lead to a considerable amount of pain. Dentists can treat these cavities, and place many crowns on a daily basis. Tooth loss is also a problem that dentists deal with, and around 15 million people have crown and bridge replacements made to replace missing teeth. At least 30 million people in the United States are missing all of the teeth in at least one jaw, and some are missing even more. These people frequently require dentures.
Dentists often frequently perform dental surgery like wisdom tooth removal. Wisdom tooth removal is a procedure that is common in the United States, as most adult jaws can only accommodate 28 teeth in total and do not have room for more. Therefore, wisdom teeth need to be removed more often than not. Fortunately for the patient, wisdom teeth removal is typically an outpatient procedure, and is performed on over five million people every single year.
Seeing a dentist on a regular basis is important to maintain oral health and hygiene. From untreated cavities to dentures, dentists perform a number of skilled operations and can help to make your mouth healthier and your smile brighter. Dental issues are not uncommon in the United States, but most of the time can be treated fairly easily and painlessly.
