Is Flossing Important?

Nearing middle age I have began to look at life a little differently.  I am noticing that I am really truly not as young as a once was.  I went to play basketball this last weekend and it had been almost a year since I had previously played.  The next morning my body felt wrecked.  My knees hurt and my back felt like I had run a marathon.  Clearly I am a bit out of shape, but it also got me thinking about all other aspects of my life and health.  One area I have always feared was my dental hygiene.  I have always feared my teeth being filled with cavities and eventually falling out.  It was always a nightmare of mine as a child, but even with this fear my dental health has not always been perfect.

In reality I brush my teeth about once a day and sometimes I forget.  So I am wondering if now I need to add flossing to my daily routine to keep my teeth healthy.  Apparently I have joined 36% of Americans who do not floss at all.  I really only floss when I get something truly stuck in my teeth. So in reality its about once a month.

 Looking into the topic it seems that flossing is very important and something I should start doing on a daily basis if I can remember to do it.  The extra flossing helps get rid of extra bacteria, plaque and food which has gotten stuck on enamel.  So in the end it will help get rid of cavities and tooth decay.  Upon hearing this I was asountded that I have been missing out on such an important part of my health.

Apparently bad breath comes from tarter.  I learned that tarter is created when plaque builds up on tooth enamel.  This is the main cause of bad breath and shows me that brushing and using mouthwash it not enough.  I need to start flossing to get rid of plaque before I go to sleep. And not only that it helps a more serious health issue.

I learned that it can help prevent heart disease. So when you have gum disease due to cavies and plaque and tarter buildup you have a chance of it getting into your gums. That bacteria that gets into the bloodstream from the gums can actually cause heart disease. So flossing not only is important for dental health but also your whole body’s health and cardiovascular health too. As always see your healthcare provider for more information and to see if flossing should be a part of your daily routine too.

Backpacking and Dental Hygiene

When I was growing up my father instilled in me a love and an appreciation for the outdoors.  I grew up in the midwest of the United States and even though our terrain is not majestic it can be peaceful and beautiful.  In my more recent years, I have found that a great way to get out in nature and experience that  beauty is through backpacking.  The joys of personally conquering distances and seeing areas that most humans will never visit or see is exhilarating.  Being so remote to see rare sights also comes with difficulty and sacrifices.  One sacrifice that many backpackers are willing to make and that I am not is my dental hygiene. 

Brushing your teeth is a regular occurrence in my life and I think that it is important to keep up with the routine no matter what I am doing or where I am.  Even if I am 30 miles away from civilization and a sink, I still bring a toothbrush and some paste along with me. 

I have been caught without my toothbrush and paste before and the experience was unpleasant.  Years ago I went on a several week fishing trip in the boundary waters of Canada.  The trip was meant to be 60 miles long and two weeks in time.  We were outfitted for food for the time and expected to catch fish for about half of the meals.  This was a crazy trip because on our first day we canoed 15 miles in and that very night a tornado came through our path. Since we were on the water at the time with our gear, all of our canoes were flipped by the 100 mph plus winds.  The Tornado made us lose about half of our gear and my hygiene products as well. 

The lack of brushing my teeth and the lack of nutrients I was ingesting from the lack of our regular food supplies left me in pain.  My mouth was hurting by the end of the trip and my teeth were in pain.  It took a week after the return for my mouth to feel better.  I had to restock on nutrients and get the plaque and tartar build up off my teeth. It was after this experience, that I decided I would always take a backup toothbrush and vitamins with me on every trip.  I now store them in two separate locations so I have a regular and backup just incase something like this ever happens again.