Introduction:
Preventive dental and spinal care are pivotal to our well-being. Understanding their importance can transform our health, yet spinal care often remains an afterthought until pain demands our attention.
Key Takeaways:
- Dental care is essential for preventing cavities, toothache, bad breath, and gum disease.
- Spinal health, while often neglected, is crucial for mobility and overall well-being.
- Preventative maintenance, similar to dental care, can significantly improve spinal health.
- Regular chiropractic visits can prevent spinal issues and enhance quality of life.
- OC Wellness Physicians Medical Center offers expert chiropractic care for long-term wellness.
Why is dental care important, and how does it relate to spinal health?
Dental care prevents various health issues, including cavities and gum disease, and is a routine part of most people’s health regimen from an early age. However, spinal health, crucial for mobility and protecting the central nervous system, often receives less attention until significant pain or injury occurs. This article emphasizes the importance of preventative care for both dental and spinal health, highlighting the benefits of regular check-ups, preventative maintenance, and professional care to avoid severe health problems.
We all learn from a very early age how important it is to care for our teeth and gums. We are taught to brush three times a day just as soon as we are old enough to understand. Most of us practice further preventative maintenance on our teeth and gums by flossing and using antiseptic mouthwash.
Moreover, we don’t totally rely on DIY measures to take care of our teeth. We become acquainted with the work of a dentist when we are young and we continue to visit the dental surgery regularly for the rest of our lives. Regular check-ups by the dentist keep us abreast of any developing problems with our teeth. Even when our teeth and gums are healthy we receive preventative treatment from a dental hygienist. In fact, most of us go all out to avoid the need for remedial teeth care.
Why is dental care so important?
So what is it that drives us to invest our own time and spend our money on dental care? Although the answers to this question may vary slightly from person to person, the following reasons would most often be quoted:
- To prevent dental cavities and the need for tooth extraction
- To avoid the discomfort of toothache
- To prevent bad breath
- To prevent gum disease and more serious related health problems
Dental care is a serious business: nobody wants to suffer with breath odor, gum disease or the loss of teeth through decay. Perhaps we consider dental care all the more important because keeping our teeth beautiful and our breath fresh has an impact on others as well as ourselves.
Now let’s turn to a part of our anatomy which generally, we pay far less attention to, at least until problems occur – the spine. While we live in fear of toothache and dental problems, many of us don’t even think about spinal health until sports injuries, auto accidents or the onset of chronic back pain force us to seek pain management and curative therapy
Prevention is better than terrible back ache:
If we were to focus half as much on maintaining our spines, as we do on our teeth, we’d be a far healthier world population. Yet despite the fact that the spine is critical to mobility and protects our delicate central nervous systems, spinal care tends to occupy our attention only when episodes of neck or lower back pain strike. Even then, I feel sure you’re more likely to rush to the dentist at the first sign of toothache, than you are to seek attention at the first twinge of back pain.
While gum disease can lead to serious health deterioration, problems with your spine are potentially more damaging and can lead to long term incapacitation and in the worst cases, paralysis. Nobody wants to lose their teeth, but in the worst case, implants and dentures can serve as effective replacements. There is no replacement for a seriously damaged spine.
Millions of people worldwide live with the misery of chronic back pain, yet this doesn’t need to be the case. Of course it’s impossible to rule out spinal damage from auto accidents or similar events. However a lifetime program of preventative spinal care can save you from degenerative disc disorders and other conditions which arise from simple wear and tear.
How to protect your spine – for life:
Spinal care and teeth care are not so dissimilar. As you limit the amount of sugary foods you eat and brush your teeth regularly, you can protect your spine by practicing safe lifting techniques and performing back strengthening exercises. As you can enlist the help of a dental practice to check your teeth and head off problems before they occur, so you can get help from a chiropractor to keep your spine in alignment and deal with small problems before they become big ones.
In fact, regular visits to your chiropractor can be beneficial not just for preventative spinal care, but also for your general wellness. That’s why it pays to begin a regular program of chiropractic visits even if you have never suffered with back or neck pain. Regular chiropractic adjustments and counseling can help you to avoid illness and injuries as well as improving your overall quality of life.
When you visit your dental care provider, you know you are investing in the brightness of your smile, the freshness of your breath and the longevity of your teeth. When you visit your chiropractor, you are investing in the preservation of your spine and central nervous system, that’s why you should prioritize the maintenance of your spine just as highly, if not more so, than the maintenance of your teeth.
OC Wellness Physicians Chiropractic Care:
Here at OC Wellness Physicians, you’ll find a team of healthcare experts, including certified and highly talented chiropractors, who are committed to your long term wellness. If you’d like to make an appointment or just find out more about protecting your spine through our chiropractic care services, don’t hesitate to visit our website or call us on (657) 837-2608.