Just wondering about dental hygiene?

Question

hey I got a question I've always wondered...I brush my teeth all the time and pride myself in dental hygiene but what if I never really brushed my teeth (lets say once every couple days) flossed once every month and rarely used mouthwash, lived this type of lifestyle for lets say 30 years then all of a sudden start brushing, flossing and using mouthwash everyday, do you think that would cure cavities and ginginvitis? or do you think your mouth is just shot that it'll just stay in the state it was in and stop deteriorating? any opinion is appreciated.

Answer 1

cavities don't really go away. You have to have them drilled, cleaned and filled. so in essense, when you say "..just stay in the state it was in and stop deteriorating..", that's more like it. If you're lucky it won't get worse.

Answer 2

It won't cure decay but it would help with the gingivitis. But if you let your teeth go for 30 years don't expect the have many! You need to floss daily, brush daily, go to a dentist for a cleaning 1 to 4 times a year depending on how you develop tartar. My wife is a dentist!

Answer 3

Everyone is different. Some people would have already lost their teeth, some have a few cavities, some no problem at all.

I know a guy who is in his 80's and never does anything to his teeth and has beautiful teeth still.

Answer 4

no way the damage would have been done from neglect. You would pay the price when the dentist told you how bad your mouth was. teeth and the mouth require maintence and 2 check ups a year to maintain good teeth. your mouth would be a real mess with no care for thirty years

Answer 5

For more great info., try www.adha.org.

It's the official site of the American Dental Hygiene Association.

On this web page, to the very far left, please click on "For Consumers".