The Importance Of Dental Hygiene During Home Isolation
In 2020, one of the biggest impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is the sudden inability to attend to our normal day-to-day tasks. Residents are asked to stay at home except for outings to purchase essential supplies and it is quite easy to fall into a no-care routine of minimal hygiene, staying in pajamas and letting television fill in hours of the day. However, despite the current state of the world outside, it is vitally important you keep your dental hygiene up to date and here are three reasons why.
Isolation Snack Consumption
When it became apparent that schools would not be returning after spring break and that working from home would become a short-term norm, many households chose to stock up on foodstuffs. Unfortunately, when it comes to choosing foods that last a month or two in the pantry, fresh foods are often replaced by processed snacks. In general, these types of snacks contain preservatives to ensure they stay fresh on the shelf, so these types of foods are not healthy for your body or your teeth. Additionally, due to stress or boredom, it's not unusual to eat more snack foods than normal at this time, so it is critically important that dental hygiene routines are kept up to ensure minimal decay occurs.
Dental Decay
As a young child, you were taught to brush and floss your teeth twice a day to keep dental decay away, and even though it may be difficult to find the motivation to do this right now, it is still vitally important you do so. Food scraps left around your teeth become food for bacteria in your mouth. When the bacteria eat the food, they turn it into plaque and as this acidic stickiness builds up on your teeth and it leads to cavities. Dental cavities are painful once the nerve roots become exposed and need a visit to your local dental office to take care of them. However, your dental office may not be readily accessible at the moment.
Dental Office Hours
Depending on which state you live in, your dentist may be offering reduced hours now to prevent their staff exposure to COVID-19. In some areas, dentists have canceled routine cleanings and are only available to deal with emergency issues such as gum infections or broken teeth. Keeping your dental hygiene habits high right now reduces your need to visit the dentist unexpectedly.
No matter how chill you get during this period of staying at home, it is important you keep your dental hygiene routine up to date. However, if you do discover new teeth concerns, call your dental office to discuss treatment options with them.
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