Importance of Maintaining Oral Health During COVID-19

Importance of Oral Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Given the current COVID-19 crisis, it's becoming more critical to maintain good oral hygiene and develope proper oral health habits. Oral health correlates with an individuals overall health and well-being. It's important to maintain your oral health by keeping up to date with regular check ups and cleanings. 

Research indicates that good oral health can prevent gum infections, bad breath, and tooth rot. On the flip side, infections that begin in your mouth can be linked to health problems and conditions such as:

• Respiratory problems
• Asthma
• Cardiovasular diseases - oral inflammation or infection due to bacteria may also play a role in clogged arteries and blood clots. Some studies suggests that people with gum infections are also at an increased rick of having heart attacks and strokes.
• Pnemonia
• Diabetes

Those are just a few conditions that can be linked to oral health. Your mouth is the entry point to your digestive and respiratory tracts. Developing and maintaining good dental hygiene, such as daily brushing and flossing, can improve your overall health and keeps the bacteria under control.

How can you protect your oral health?

• Brush your teeth 2x daily using a pea sized amount of toothpaste. Avoid brushing virigoriously because that can damage your gums.
• Floss your teeth at least once a day.
• Use mouthrinse after brushing and flossing to help eliminate any left over particles.
• Limit sugary foods and drinks intake.
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
• Maintain a well-balanced diet.
• Avoid smoking.
• Change your toothbrush once every 3 months.
• Routine check ups and regular cleanings with your dentist.

Our dental team takes standard precautions seriously while providing you and your loved ones with excellent dental care, including:

• Proper hand hygiene
• Sterilization of instruments and devices
• Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces
• Proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Surgically Clean Air Filtration Systems located throughout the office
• VectorFog fogger that is used at the end of the business day which creates a mist or fog that forms an Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) droplet. Studies have shown that these size droplets are perfect to handle vector carriers of diseases and pathogens.
• When neccessary, Ora-Care pre-procedural mouth rinses.

During these uncertain and challenging times, we want to ensure you that our dental team at Richard J. Stuart's dental office are implementing every precautionary measure to keep our patients and staff safe while still being able to attend to your dental health needs. Taking care of your oral health is an investment to your overall health.

Please contact our office today to schedule your next visit or if you have any questions! We look forward to attending to your dental needs.