We’re all told to brush at least twice a day, and you won’t hear any different from the Parkcrest Dental Group. We also all know the broader reasons as to why, but what exactly would happen if you stopped altogether? How long would it take for the serious side effects of neglecting your oral hygiene to really kick in?
At the Parkcrest Dental Group, we want to make sure that you don’t have to end up having to have teeth removed, cavities filled, or worse. But we also want to make sure you’re educated as to why. So join your local dentist in Springfield, MO to see what happens if you decide to ditch your dental routine.
Bad Breath
The first, most obvious problem you’ll encounter if you decide to ditch the toothbrush is that your breath will get significantly worse. Brushing your teeth clears away excess bacteria and food particles. While there will always be bacteria in your mouth, letting in build up means it’ll start to smell bad. If left long enough, then chewing gum or eating breath mints won’t make much of a difference.
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Discoloration
After a while, you’ll also start to see a discoloration in your teeth to go with your now-unbearable breath. Almost everything we eat, and everything we drink that isn’t water, has the potential to stain our teeth. This is especially true of coffee, tea, and soda. No daily brushing makes this staining worse extremely fast, and you’ll soon find yourself with a yellow – not to mention pungent – smile.
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From Plaque to Biofilm to Tartar
Bad breath and yellow teeth are bad enough, but the same bacteria you’re no longer brushing away can also build up enough to make things even worse. Plaque, the pale, off-white and solid build-up you find on your teeth increases the longer you go without brushing.
After bad breath and stains take hold, you’ll very quickly see more and more of this substance cemented to your teeth. Enough plaque eventually forms something called a “biofilm”, a solid layer that is even harder to remove. Eventually, tartar will grow on top of these layers, which starts to irritate your gums.
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Inflammation and Gingivitis
With enough irritation from tartar, your gums will become inflamed. This is a sign that things are about to get really serious as a result of neglecting your oral hygiene routine. Inflammation of the gums is typically known as gingivitis and is usually accompanied by bleeding. One of the most difficult problems with gingivitis is that it’s not necessarily painful, so it can continue to get worse unbeknownst to the sufferer.
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Periodontitis, Pain and Tooth Loss
Left untreated, gingivitis will start to form pockets where the gums are pulling away from the teeth. You can probably guess what the result of this will be. The aforementioned bacteria and food particles that are still collecting thanks to your eschewing of brushing will collect inside these pockets, between the gum and the tooth, leading to even worse smelling breath, cavities, abscesses and the loss of teeth.
Don’t forget, too, that if this is a result of not brushing, this will likely be happening in multiple parts of your mouth. Chewing and talking will become difficult, not to mention painful, as a condition called periodontitis takes hold. Periodontitis is essentially the culmination of all these problems, leading to loose teeth.
At this point treatment from the professionals at the Parkcrest Dental Group will become more and more extensive and invasive.
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Serious Infection
As if all of the effects of not brushing that take hold inside your mouth aren’t bad enough, it can also have some surprising effects on the rest of your body, too. As we mentioned, your mouth is full of bacteria, and having open sores and wounds as a result of not brushing is going to lead to further infection.
Your immune system will struggle to keep up, and you’ll find yourself getting more sick more often. An untreated infection can also quickly lead to blood poisoning, and even abscesses in the brain, which are both extremely serious. All from neglecting to brush your teeth twice a day.
Parkcrest Dental Group and Regular Brushing
None of this sounds especially pleasant to deal with, and brushing properly, at least twice a day, along with regular general dentistry checkups, can help to avoid a lot of these problems. If you are suffering from any of the above, or are looking for cosmetic dentistry or orthodontic dentistry, the Parkcrest Dental Group is here to help. Contact the Parkcrest Dental Group today.
