A Family Dentist Shares 4 Signs of a Healthy Mouth

Talk to a family dentist, and they will tell you how important having a healthy mouth is. Your oral health is closely related to your overall health, and teeth serve an important role when it comes to eating and speaking. We all tend to feel better about ourselves when our mouth is healthy. It is one of the first things people notice during social interactions, so those with a healthy set of teeth tend to be eager to show them off, while the opposite holds true for those with damaged or dirty-looking teeth.

What if you have been taking good care of your mouth, brushing twice daily, flossing once a day and visiting a dentist twice a year? Here are four signs that all your hard work and dedication has paid off.

A family dentist explains the signs of good oral health

1. Firm, pale, pink gums

When a person's gums are healthy, they should have a pale, pinkish color to them. Their texture should be very firm and not puffy. Reddish or whitish gums are often signs that a person's gums are unhealthy. Gums that bleed easily while brushing often have been compromised by gum disease, while sore gums with pus-filled pimples are usually signs of an infection.

The depth of gum pockets can also be used to determine how healthy they are. It can be difficult for patients to measure this themselves, but it is one of those things a family dentist will take a close look at.

2. Cavity-free teeth

When a person's mouth is healthy, their teeth should be free of cavity, chips, cracks, major stains, loose dental prosthetics, missing teeth, crooked or poorly aligned teeth. All these things are issues that need to be addressed by a dentist to prevent them from getting worse. In addition, healthy teeth do not appear extra long. That is usually caused by receding gums, a symptom of gum disease.

A dentist will keep an eye out for all these things during a routine examination.

3. Fresh smelling breath

A healthy mouth will not consistently have a nasty odor to it. Having bad breath in the morning is one thing, but when it sticks with a person throughout the day, it can be a sign of gingivitis, which leads to gum disease. Other things that can lead to bad breath include:

• Smoking
• Certain health conditions
• Dehydration
• Tonsils
• Diet deficiencies
• Unclean dental prosthetics

To analyze your breath, lick the back of a hand, let it dry, then smell the area. Bad breath is often an issue that can be fixed by a dentist.

4. A clean, pink tongue

The tongue is another good indicator of how healthy a person's mouth is. A healthy tongue should be pink and covered with papillae (tiny nodules). The surface should be clean, smooth and flat. The nodules on the tongue can house oral bacteria and give them an opportunity to populate to unhealthy levels.

The tongue should be cleaned during each brushing session with a tongue scraper or toothbrush.

We do it all

At Frankford Dental Care, we provide routine oral examinations and treatments that will keep your teeth healthy. Drop by our office for a thorough oral examination, and find out how healthy your mouth really is.

Let's get started …

Request an appointment here: https://frankforddentalcare.com or call Frankford Dental Care at (215) 302-1746 for an appointment in our Philadelphia office.

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