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History of Oral Health

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You brush your teeth. You rinse with Listerine. You visit the dentist for your checkup. Ever wonder when and why these common practices came to be? The specifics of oral health are not as mundane as one would think. Oral health has an interesting history and can be maintained with a few healthy habits. Moreover, scientists predict that new advancements will make it easier for the public to care for their mouth in the near future. The majority of us have a lot to learn regarding the 'how's and why's' of our oral health routines.

The history of the world's fascination with oral health is a long and illustrious one. The first mentions of teeth and dental hygiene were found in inscriptions from Mesopotamian clay tablets, dating back to 5000 years ago. The inscriptions were very vague, however, so no one took much interest in them at the time. The earliest interest in oral health came from the Orient. Around the fifteenth century, Hindus and Chinese came up with a variety of dental treatments and intricate surgical operations. Also in the 1400s, the Chinese invented the first tooth brush, made of hog hair. And at the same time, in Europe, dentistry became a profession, but a very primitive one compared to today's standards. The start of dentistry marked the start of an organized way to care for and assess oral health. Advancements began, and continued at a rapid pace. Since knowledge of dental health was coming out from all sources, many countries made national centers for dental health around the turn of the twentieth century. The American Dental Association (ADA) came out a little earlier, in the 1860s. Opening and advancing centers like these made oral health information readily available to the public. Practices and procedures about oral health progressively evolved into today's standard systems.

There are a myriad of ways to improve your oral health. The most obvious of these would be to brush after each meal. Brushing gives food acids less time to eat away at the enamel on your teeth. The ADA recommends that people brush at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste to strengthen tooth enamel and prevent tooth decay. Flossing and rinsing are widely overlooked by the population. While these tasks are tedious, they have a great affect on oral health and thus should not be omitted from your dental health routine. Finally, make sure to visit your dentist. They can show you the most effective ways to keep your gums and teeth well.

In the future, keeping your mouth healthy will be easier than ever before. Something commonplace in almost every adolescent's life, chewing gum, will soon be beneficial to the public's oral health. The ADA says sugarless gum of the future will be able to cure gingivitis as well as prevent tooth decay and strengthen tooth enamel. Improvements do not stop there, however. By opening up the science of dental gerontology*, scientists will soon learn how teeth age. By knowing how the negative aspects of aging affect teeth, they may be able to invent treatments to prevent tooth loss and tooth discoloration. In a few short years, everyone on Earth could have a healthy, white smile thanks to research being done now.

The idea of oral health may have started approximately 5000 years ago, but dental health and hygiene have experienced drastic changes within the last few centuries. Today, these changes have given us countless items in our bathroom cabinets ' Fluoride rinses, toothpaste, floss, and toothbrushes, just to name a few. These tools are vital for millions of people across the globe who want a bright, healthy smile. Furthermore, scientists promise even greater advancements in the future, so it will be easier to keep our mouths healthy. While certain details about oral health in the future are up in the air, one thing is certain: The progression of oral health and the products that contribute to it can only continue at an astonishing rate, as they have done for centuries.




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