I conducted a survey among my peers with one question in mind. Do you like going to the dentist? The three written options I gave them were "yes," "no", and "neither like nor dislike." Out of 30 people, exactly 23 picked "no". Five people chose "neither like nor dislike," and the remaining two checked off "yes." That blows my mind. A majority of the people who do not like going to the dentist, might have a case of dentophobia. I cannot fully comprehend why only two of my peers chose yes, but I must assume that they have something in common with me. We are the rare ones who are fascinated by going to the dentist.
Did you know that some of the top reasons why people hate the dentists actually sound absurd to someone like me? I have LOVED going to the dentist since as long as I can remember. On a website titled Hate Dentists they say that the top five reasons in descending order are, "Invasiveness, The Drill, Anxiety, Pain, and The Needle." When I saw needle listed as the top reason, I knew this was going to be a very accurate listicle. I have known so many people over the years who had a phobia of needles. This ties into going to the doctors, too, yet people seem to prefer going to the doctor's office over the dental office anytime.
You can call me a "dentist's pet," but my six month check ups are always a chance for me to show off how clean my oral cavity was. To this day, I have never had a cavity in my life. In an article written by a credible news site, they state, "Approximately 91 percent of U.S. adults aged 20-64 had dental caries in permanent teeth in 2011-2012." They go on to mention, "...42 percent of children ages 2 to 11 have had tooth decay, and 23 percent of them had not been treated." Now that just blows my mind.
Some of the reasons that bad oral health can occur in people are things like bad nutrition, not flossing, genetics, and not going to the dentist to get a polishing and cleaning every six months. The top reason is not brushing your teeth correctly, consistently, or at all. Now as nutrition goes, it is difficult and vexatious for someone to change what they eat, drink, or do in their daily lives. To start, you can cut out all soda and any sugary drinks or drinks that cause stains. Same thing goes with food. Anything considered sugary or likely to leave a stain on your teeth, should be avoided.
Anything that sticks to the surfaces of your teeth need to be avoided at all costs. Now just by incorporating water into your diet, there is something called water fluoridation that you will benefit from. That is basically having a healthy amount of fluoride being added to your water supply which will help prevent cavities and tooth decay from growing in your teeth. Ever wonder why people have such yellow teeth? It could easily be from smoking. This habit can not only stain your teeth, but it can cause major health problems, like gingivitis.
The best way to make sure that your oral cavity is healthy and in great shape is to have six month checkups at a dentist's office! Have no fear, the dentist is near!
