Your Teeth Have More in Common with Your Automobile Than You Might Think!
As adults, there’s a lot of maintenance to be done throughout our lifetimes. Whether you’re referring to the maintenance of your home or maybe even an ongoing personal relationship, a lot of time is dedicated to making sure that things run smoothly.
A big part of this is the time devoted to our automobiles. Whether you drive strictly to and from work, or if you take long family trips, it’s almost guaranteed that you put a lot of time, energy, and money taking care of your car, truck, SUV, or what have you.
Caring for your teeth is more similar to caring for your vehicle than you might think. Luckily for you, we’re here to tell you exactly how it all fits together.
What Your Teeth Have in Common with Your Automobile
Let’s take a moment for a quick run-down of how your vehicle and teeth are similar:
Wear and Tear — For those of us who drive our vehicles almost every single day, there’s a great deal of wear and tear that occurs. Whether you’re talking about the engine, the tires, or even the seats, all that constant usage will eventually wear down the automobile’s components. Our teeth work the same way. We use our chompers on a daily basis to help grind up food, and many types of food can be damaging over time. This is just a fact of life, no matter how careful and meticulous you are about their care.
Basic Maintenance — Your vehicle’s maintenance is simply part of ownership. Even though this isn’t a daily thing most of the time, your automobile requires oil changes, tire rotation, etc. in order to keep running smoothly. Fall behind on basic maintenance and it won’t take long before you’re looking at costly repairs. The same is true with your teeth. The difference, of course, is that basic maintenance on your teeth needs to be done every day to help fight cavities, gum disease, and other problems that could result in a costly visit to the dentist for repair or damage control. And don’t forget that, like a regular tune-up on your vehicle, you should visit a dentist every six months for a cleaning and check-up.
Emergency Maintenance — No matter how well you take care of your automobile or teeth, you’re most likely going to need emergency maintenance on both. With a vehicle, your battery could inexplicably run out of juice or you could walk out to go to work only to discover that your alternator has gone out. Similarly, your teeth could be damaged by a facial injury, biting down on something really hard, or other actions. It may ruin your day, but it’s important that emergency maintenance on both vehicles and your teeth be conducted right away. Hence, the “emergency” part.
What Your Teeth Don’t Have in Common with Your Automobile
So what is the one big thing that your vehicle and teeth do not have in common with each other? Simple — you can’t trade your teeth in for new ones.
What we’re talking about is the fact that you only have one set of teeth. If you ruin them, they won’t grow back (as adults, of course). Now, some of you are going to say that certain apparatus like dentures and implants are available, but those should only be implemented as a last resort. Dentures are a pain to take care of and often don’t achieve the best of appearances, while implants are quite expensive. You’re much better off taking care of your original teeth instead.
When you’re ready to get some “maintenance” done on your teeth, give the office of Dr. Bruce McArthur, DDS, a call. We’ll get you started on better dental and oral health today!