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health care : Smile To The Future |
 Smile To The Future
Preventing heart disease, controlling diabetes, developing vaccines: they’re all fields of research you might not associate with your regular dental checkups. Dentistry is facing some exciting new developments that will not only help your teeth look and feel better, they may just help you live longer too.
Taking care of your teeth and gums may be just as important as a balanced diet and exercise for a healthy heart and body. Research indicates that gum disease may be linked to heart disease, premature births, and even diabetes.
Heart disease prevention through regular dental checkups might have been scoffed at a few years ago, but a study of veterans in Boston found that over a period of thirty years, men with gum disease, or periodontal disease, had about twice the death rate, especially from heart attack. Research also indicates that mothers with bad gums were about eight times more likely to deliver premature babies, and that even diabetes may be more easily controlled if a gum infection is treated first.
Fortunately, with these new discoveries in health science come exciting new ways to reduce decay and keep your smile healthier longer. Vaccines will soon be able to knock out the bacteria in your mouth that causes tooth decay. And experiments have shown that laser light can be absorbed by tooth minerals, forming a hard ceramic-like surface that is decay-resistant.
With Christmas and New Year’s parties ahead, a dazzling smile may well be your perfect accessory. Cosmetic enhancement of your pearly whites can turn back the clock on your smile while you look forward to the new year. Whitening and microabrasion erase ugly stains and replace discolorations with a brighter, whiter smile. Bonding can correct any cracks, chips, or uneven spacing that can dull your smile, while more severe stains and chips can be covered with veneers. Crowns can repair severely damaged teeth with a tough layer of gold, metal, or porcelain, and implants can replace missing teeth.
As the medical community becomes more aware of how healthy smiles can indicate a healthy self, dentistry will be the field to watch in the coming years.
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