A few months back, I put that above statement up on my Facebook wall. I did it as a joke. It was my personal page and not my business page. On my business page, I tried to keep things classy and posted, “Brushing without flossing is like putting a broom to carpet without vacuuming.” On my business page I got 3 responses. On my personal page, apparently, “pooping’ makes more of an eye catching statement, and received about 20 responses. The funny thing is what happened after.
Just because I got 20 responses, doesn’t necessarily mean I only had 20 people viewing the phrase. All of a sudden patients who also are on my personal page who would come in for cleanings began to tell me they started flossing daily. So I decided to make the statement into a blog post and perhaps influence some people into flossing a bit more often.
The reality is the same plaque you find in your teeth is found in an artery wall when a patient has a heart attack. The reality also is that although most of us are afraid of dying on a plane or from a shark attack, your heart will be your own worst enemy. Heart disease is the number one killer of women. Furthermore, heart disease is the number one killer of women….more than ALL cancers combined.
So what can you do? Begin with the basics- floss and brush (and if you smoke, STOP). Getting that stuff out from in between your teeth will lower plaque buildup. Consider getting cleanings every 3 months instead of every 6. Did you know getting teeth cleanings twice a year was something insurance companies dictated to us as practitioners. A good dentist will tell you to get cleanings 4 times a year. Prevention of 3-5 minutes a day can help you live a longer life. The studies prove that you can live longer just by flossing on a daily basis.
Ok, now let’s say you have a denture. You can build up plaque on a denture if you do not clean it. So for you denture patients out there reading this, go buy yourself a denture brush, and clean your denture once a day. Simply by using soap and water with the brush, you can remove the plaque retained in the crevices of a denture. Better yet, go buy some Polident or over the counter denture cleaner. Or stop by my office, I can give you a sample.
At the end of the day, like Mr. Clean says, “Keep It Clean.” Sure he was talking about your kitchen, but your mouth is just as important.
If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.
Dr. Max
