Your dentist is a skilled professional, but they are not a magician, able to wave a wand and undo months of neglect between appointments.

When working towards the goal of good oral health, it’s important to remember that a proper self-care routine helps you to get the most out of your health and dental insurance benefits.

Keep it Simple

Over the years, many dental care tools have appeared on the market, each one promising to make dental care easier than ever before. You can easily find special whitening formulas for a brighter smile, supersonic toothbrushes that apparently break up plaque into microscopic particles, water jets to blast away food residue, and the list goes on.

We won’t go so far as to disparage all the latest and greatest tools in home dental care, but we’re sure most dentists would agree that the best dental care tools are the ones you actually use. If you’re more diligent about brushing when using an electric toothbrush, by all means use one. Just know that the best results come from regular care over a long period.

The standard advice of brushing twice a day, flossing, and seeing the dentist at the recommended frequency still applies, no matter how you do it. Of course, if your dentist has specifically recommended a particular implement for your dental hygiene needs you should heed that advice.

However, if you think a lack of fancy water flossers and tooth whitening trays is standing between you and your best oral health, we have some good news for you! A regular old toothbrush and string floss are up to the task for those with no special dental conditions.

Speaking of special conditions that affect oral health…

Special Conditions Affecting Oral Health

The standard advice to brush, floss and rinse is enough for most Canadians to maintain their oral health between trips to the dentist, but there are a few special conditions where an extra eye on dental care is required. These conditions include:

• Pregnancy: There are oral health conditions that are common during pregnancy, like dry mouth and pregnancy gingivitis, but there’s no need to avoid routine trips to the dentist during pregnancy.
• Diabetes: When it comes to diabetes and gum disease, it’s kind of like the “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” debate. Does diabetes cause gum disease, or does gum disease cause diabetes? The closest answer is that they both affect each other, and diabetics may need to have more frequent trips to the dentist than other patients.
• Heart Disease: Another established but not well-understood link is the one between poor oral health and heart disease. Patients with heart disease are dramatically more likely to be afflicted with periodontitis than the rest of the population. Whether or not this is because of differences in nutritional habits remains to be seen.

Many health conditions are affected by your dental care routine. Dental care is not a luxury item; it’s a critical part of your overall health care. If you are undergoing treatment for a chronic condition, it’s even more important to keep up with a regular oral health care routine.

Dental Care is NOT a Luxury Item

Because it’s not covered under the government health insurance plans, many uninsured Canadians are under the impression that dental care is a luxury, not a necessity. Nothing could be further from the truth! People who do not regularly see the dentist are subject to many chronic health conditions as the result of inadequate dental care.

Before you decide to go without private health and dental insurance benefits, know that people who carry insurance are, for obvious reasons, more likely to regularly visit the dentist. Premiums may seem expensive at first glance, but the out-of-pocket costs for dental treatments can quickly soar out of reach. The best way to make sure you’re taking the best possible care of your oral health, and, therefore, your overall health, is to carry health and dental insurance.

Getting dental insurance is easier than you think. A quick call to one of our customer service agents can have you on the path to better oral health in no time. Contact us today!