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Dental Hygiene Research Paper

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The Importance of a Healthy Mouth My interest in dentistry has grown immensely since I’ve started working at a dental office that deals with many patients who may have never had proper oral care or they smoke and chew tobacco along with many other bad habits. The lack of oral hygiene has raised many problems, problems that could have been prevented with just a couple check-ups a year, such as tooth decay, gum recession, bad breath, heart failure, high blood pressure. Deciding to go to school to become a dental hygienist has made me become even more interested and more excited to learn as well as teach other individuals the importance of a healthy mouth. As the old saying says, “Making the world a better place, one smile at a time.”(Unknown) …show more content…

These people may make excuses as to why they choose not to get these cleanings. Some say that they are not able to afford paying for a professional Dental Hygienist, it’s a waste of time, or they claim they take great care of their teeth at home so the every six month appointment would be pointless. Whatever the excuse may be, I would have to disagree. The lack of proper oral hygiene can over time cause infections and may even cause some bone loss that can lead to losing teeth. “...One cannot be healthy with an unhealthy mouth any more than one can be healthy with an infected foot.” Dr. Richard H. Price states in the article “Oral Hygiene and Overall Health”. While working at a dental office that deals mainly with the gums and bone density in the mouth, I have seen many cases where the patients have lost teeth due to careless oral hygiene. One patient in particular had never had any kind of professional dental help. This patient had some severe bone loss as well as gum recession on seven teeth, and also a great amount of tooth mobility because of the bone loss. The doctor continued by telling the patient how over the years that his oral health problem had occurred and how the regular cleanings could have prevented such problems. The plaque that …show more content…

People who don’t get regular cleanings and people who chew or smoke tobacco need to be warned of the consequences and of the life threatening dangers that poor oral hygiene and bad habits of smoking and chewing tobacco can bring to a person’s personal life and work life. The percentage of tooth decay from one decade ago to today is down fifty percent. The percentage meaning there are fewer people who skip their every six month oral cleanings, there are fewer people who smoke and chew tobacco, and also meaning there are fifty percent healthier mouths, but just think if in another decade if that percentage drops another fifty percent. America would not only be filled with people with great smiles and great confidence, but also more people would be healthier and free from diseases and cancers, and that is a wonderful thing to

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