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Does brushing your teeth right before bed make a difference? A lifestyle habit that many have found difficult to maintain.
In the city, everyone else is too busy indulging in fine dining or gorging on street food, and in the midst of this culinary indulgence, dental health suffers.
Not that dental care is completely disregarded; rather, a sizable segment of the populace sometimes forgets to perform the important nocturnal brushing regimen.
Maintaining long-term dental health requires practicing good oral hygiene before going to bed.
According to experts, about ten years ago, seventy percent of Indians acknowledged that they were too lazy to clean their teeth at night. It is surprising to see that just 45% of Indians presently brush their teeth twice a day; this ratio hasn’t increased much.
Nine out of ten Indians suffer from tooth cavities, according to Dr. Vamsi Krishna Reddy, General Secretary of the Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry. This statistic highlights how little emphasis Indians place on oral health care in their day-to-day life.
Notably, in urban India, the lapse in nighttime brushing seems more attributed to laziness and ignorance than a lack of education.
What are the repercussions of neglecting nighttime brushing?
This neglect can lead to various oral health problems, including tooth decay.
“Failing to brush your teeth at night can lead to various oral health issues, one of which is tooth decay. When food particles and bacteria accumulate on the teeth throughout the day, they produce acids that break down tooth enamel, resulting in cavities and decay,” Dr Vamsi Krishna Reddy told a media.
Furthermore, poor dental hygiene at night can cause bad breath because sleeping reduces saliva production, which fosters the growth of bacteria.
Another effect is plaque accumulation in gum disease. Plaque accumulation along the gum line can lead to infection and inflammation, which can result in gingivitis or more serious periodontal disorders, according to Dr. Reddy.
The consequences of not brushing at night go beyond dental health and affect long-term bodily health.
Neglecting dental hygiene has been linked in recent research to an increased risk of heart disease because oral diseases like gingivitis can cause systemic inflammation and exacerbate atherosclerosis.
Maintaining oral health is especially important for diabetics since high blood sugar depletes white blood cells, which leaves them vulnerable to infections from periodontal (gum) illnesses.
Strategies to help you brush twice a day
- Experts should encourage people to establish a nighttime routine that includes oral care and other self-care practices.
- Implement oral hygiene education in schools to instil the importance of brushing twice daily from an early age.
- Offer free oral checkups at workplaces and within communities to raise awareness about dental health.
- Utilise digital reminders and alarms to prompt individuals to brush their teeth before bed.
Source:IT
