Quite often I see patients who don’t know they have a problem.  Then it happens, something breaks or their mouth begins to hurt.  By then, treatment is typically more involved than it would have been had preventive measures been taken. 

For instance, the way your teeth fit and function together may not be something that enters your conscious thought.  If teeth don’t fit together correctly, the muscles of your jaw adapt (which isn’t necessarily good for your mouth).  Unless there is muscle fatigue or pain involved you are likely unaware of this happening, yet improper forces and function on our teeth can be detrimental to our overall oral health.  A lack of awareness can also hold true for accumulated debris and bacteria on your teeth, gum disease, tooth decay, loose teeth and even fractures in teeth.  Have you ever noticed how many “extra spaces” there are between your teeth after they are cleaned by a conscientious hygienist?  The spaces have always been there, but we “fill them up” with plaque, tartar and debris between appointments.  It’s not that we try to pack the spaces full; it’s just that it happens so slowly we are not always conscious of the problem.  A person may be completely unaware of a concern or, if they are momentarily aware of it, eventually get “used to it”. 

This latter phenomenon is what we call “sensory adaptation”.  Imagine a gas leak in your house.  You smell it right away, but if you let it go, you will eventually become unaware of the odor.  When someone new walks into the house, the smell is obvious to them and yet you might respond, “I can’t even smell it anymore” (kind of like I don’t even notice the “wonderful aroma” of the dental office anymore!).  Just because you can’t smell it anymore does not mean the problem has gone away.  Give it time and bigger concerns will arise.

An important step in the journey to oral health and wellness is accepting the possibility that you may not be as healthy as you feel.  Your dentist will help you see and “feel” your true oral health picture and then open the door to what is possible for obtaining higher levels of health, oral function and beauty. Numerous studies have shown how the health of our mouth relates to the picture of our overall health.  The quality of our lives depends on our level of oral health, function and appearance.  If it’s been a while since you’ve seen the dentist, take a moment to make the call and start on the path of good oral health.  Learning and thinking about what is in your long-term best interest will be worth any uneasiness that comes with a change in perspective.