{"id":1270,"date":"2020-02-20T19:31:45","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T19:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/?p=1270"},"modified":"2021-01-18T06:38:46","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T06:38:46","slug":"keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Care for your Teeth as you Age"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aging is a side effect of living a long, full life. Even the most unpleasant effects are resultant of a gift that generations of human beings were never given. As a result, modern medicine is still working to fully understand the processes that our body goes through during our life cycle. In the meantime, we can use the common side effects of dental aging to prevent further complications with healthy teeth.<\/p>\n

Effects of Aging and Healthy Teeth<\/h2>\n

When it comes to your teeth, there are three primary signs of aging.<\/p>\n

1. Receding Gums<\/h3>\n

Your gums recede naturally as you age. Harvard Health<\/a> states that receding gums expose the more sensitive parts of the tooth, closer to the root. Therefore, older patients are more likely to develop cavities near the base of the tooth. The damage can sometimes go unnoticed given that we lose some sensitivity over time.<\/p>\n

2. Dry Mouth<\/h3>\n

As the Mayo Clinic<\/a> explains, our salivary glands have a tendency to produce less saliva as we age. Saliva plays a vital role in neutralizing acids your teeth may be exposed to while acting as a regular rinse cycle for your teeth. Dry mouth makes your teeth more vulnerable to the acids your mouth creates when healthy, oral bacteria consume the sugars left over from the foods you ingest on a daily basis. The result being that cavities develop more easily.<\/p>\n

3. Worn Enamel<\/h3>\n

Healthy teeth are incredibly strong, but a lifetime of use wears them down over time. The protective layer of enamel and the biting edges of the tooth lose their integrity through a mixture of physical and chemical damage. The loss of enamel, in particular, increases the vulnerability of your teeth, as you age.<\/p>\n

Keeping your Teeth Healthy<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s little you can do to stop the aging process, but, by maintaining a healthy dental regimen, you can protect your teeth despite your increased vulnerability to tooth decay.<\/p>\n

1. Brush Twice a Day<\/h3>\n

Ideally, you should brush your teeth immediately after eating, but that is not always practical. At the very least, brush twice daily. If arthritis makes brushing difficult, then you should consider using an electric toothbrush with soft bristles.<\/p>\n

2. Floss Regularly<\/h3>\n

Daily flossing will help to protect the vulnerable spots in between teeth and near the gum line. If you\u2019re struggling with arthritis or fine-motor skills, then a Waterpik can help you reach those spots with minimal difficulty.<\/p>\n

3. Chew Sugar-Free Gum<\/h3>\n

To combat dry mouth, chew sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva production throughout the day. You can ask your dentist about the recommended brands and use them whenever you\u2019re feeling the effects.<\/p>\n

4. Rinse Regularly<\/h3>\n

Although not as effective as natural saliva, rinsing your mouth after ingesting high-sugar or high-acid foods can reduce the effects they would otherwise have. Orange juice, coffee, wine, and soda are common culprits, so a quick water rinse afterward can even the odds in your favor.<\/p>\n

5. Appropriate Denture Care<\/h3>\n

If you have dentures, then preserving them is just as vital as preserving your remaining teeth. The American Dental Association<\/a> suggests removing them for at least four hours a day. They should be cleaned daily and removed at night.<\/p>\n

Planning for the Future<\/h2>\n

Maintaining your teeth from a young age helps to create a healthy baseline for when your teeth begin to show their age. However, you can\u2019t plan for everything and sometimes damage can go unnoticed. In those cases, talk with a dentist specializing in Los Angeles periodontics and dental implants<\/a>. Dr. Kao can assess the condition of your remaining teeth to help maintain the smile you\u2019ve loved your whole life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aging is a side effect of living a long, full life. Even the most unpleasant effects are resultant of a gift that generations of human beings were never given. As a result, modern medicine is still working to fully understand the processes that our body goes through during our life cycle. In the meantime, we … Continue reading How to Care for your Teeth as you Age<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[141,145,54,83,143,144,146,140,142],"class_list":["post-1270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dental-care-at-home","tag-aging","tag-brushing","tag-dental-implants","tag-dentures","tag-dry-mouth","tag-enamel","tag-flossing","tag-healthy-teeth","tag-receding-gums"],"yoast_head":"\nKeeping Healthy Teeth as You Age | Periodontist Los Angeles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Aging is a side effect of living a long, full life. How do you keep healthy teeth as you grow older? Read on for healthy teeth tips you can use at home.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Keeping Healthy Teeth as You Age | Periodontist Los Angeles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Aging is a side effect of living a long, full life. How do you keep healthy teeth as you grow older? Read on for healthy teeth tips you can use at home.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dental Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-20T19:31:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-18T06:38:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1254\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"836\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"davidkaodds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"davidkaodds\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"davidkaodds\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/507124b026afe807693d045c599f1ed0\"},\"headline\":\"How to Care for your Teeth as you Age\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-20T19:31:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-18T06:38:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":609,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"aging\",\"brushing\",\"dental implants\",\"dentures\",\"dry mouth\",\"enamel\",\"flossing\",\"healthy teeth\",\"receding gums\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Dental Care at Home\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/\",\"name\":\"Keeping Healthy Teeth as You Age | Periodontist Los Angeles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-20T19:31:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-18T06:38:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/507124b026afe807693d045c599f1ed0\"},\"description\":\"Aging is a side effect of living a long, full life. How do you keep healthy teeth as you grow older? Read on for healthy teeth tips you can use at home.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg\",\"width\":1254,\"height\":836,\"caption\":\"Close up of patient's smile\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Care for your Teeth as you Age\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dental Blog\",\"description\":\"Dental blog Los Angeles\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.davidkaodds.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/507124b026afe807693d045c599f1ed0\",\"name\":\"davidkaodds\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6cda9aff9b480b92a18d804cd12fef21c3665ca0acbd4ca536fbe08637006a2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6cda9aff9b480b92a18d804cd12fef21c3665ca0acbd4ca536fbe08637006a2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6cda9aff9b480b92a18d804cd12fef21c3665ca0acbd4ca536fbe08637006a2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"davidkaodds\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Keeping Healthy Teeth as You Age | Periodontist Los Angeles","description":"Aging is a side effect of living a long, full life. How do you keep healthy teeth as you grow older? Read on for healthy teeth tips you can use at home.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Keeping Healthy Teeth as You Age | Periodontist Los Angeles","og_description":"Aging is a side effect of living a long, full life. How do you keep healthy teeth as you grow older? Read on for healthy teeth tips you can use at home.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/","og_site_name":"Dental Blog","article_published_time":"2020-02-20T19:31:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-18T06:38:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1254,"height":836,"url":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"davidkaodds","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"davidkaodds","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/"},"author":{"name":"davidkaodds","@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/507124b026afe807693d045c599f1ed0"},"headline":"How to Care for your Teeth as you Age","datePublished":"2020-02-20T19:31:45+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-18T06:38:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/"},"wordCount":609,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg","keywords":["aging","brushing","dental implants","dentures","dry mouth","enamel","flossing","healthy teeth","receding gums"],"articleSection":["Dental Care at Home"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/","url":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/","name":"Keeping Healthy Teeth as You Age | Periodontist Los Angeles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg","datePublished":"2020-02-20T19:31:45+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-18T06:38:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/507124b026afe807693d045c599f1ed0"},"description":"Aging is a side effect of living a long, full life. How do you keep healthy teeth as you grow older? Read on for healthy teeth tips you can use at home.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/healthy-teeth-blog-kao.jpg","width":1254,"height":836,"caption":"Close up of patient's smile"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/keeping-healthy-teeth-as-you-age\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Care for your Teeth as you Age"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/","name":"Dental Blog","description":"Dental blog Los Angeles","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/507124b026afe807693d045c599f1ed0","name":"davidkaodds","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6cda9aff9b480b92a18d804cd12fef21c3665ca0acbd4ca536fbe08637006a2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6cda9aff9b480b92a18d804cd12fef21c3665ca0acbd4ca536fbe08637006a2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6cda9aff9b480b92a18d804cd12fef21c3665ca0acbd4ca536fbe08637006a2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"davidkaodds"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidkaodds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}