A radiant white – that is the criterion for recognizing healthy teeth at first glance. But sustainable health in the oral cavity has other criteria. Overall, healthy teeth can be recognized by seven signs.
Healthy teeth don’t have to be sparkling white or straight as a movie star’s. Teeth are just as diverse as people are. Here are the seven most important criteria for healthy teeth:
- White, beige to pale yellow teeth
- No discolouration
- Soft pink gums
- Straight and even tooth or dentition structure
- Clean interdental spaces
- Healthy Enamel
- High quality fillings
Table of Contents
White, beige to pale yellow teeth
The color of the teeth is largely determined by the dentine. The dentin, or dentin, makes up the majority of the tooth. It has a bone-like structure, encloses the tooth nerves and is protected by tooth enamel in the mouth area.
The color of the dentine is beige to yellowish, but this can vary slightly from person to person. In addition, the color of the teeth is only marginally influenced by the enamel. This is colorless and at most breaks the original color of the dentin, so that when viewed from the outside it appears a little lighter than it actually is. Consequently, yellowish teeth can be just as healthy as white ones.
Free from discoloration
Discoloration of the teeth is not natural and occurs through the consumption of stimulants such as coffee, tea and tobacco. Discolouration is not an immediate threat to teeth, but makes them appear yellower and less beautiful.
In addition to thorough brushing of teeth, professional tooth cleaning helps against external discolouration. The latter is not or at most partially financed by the statutory health insurance companies, but is covered by most private supplementary dental insurance policies.
Soft pink gums
Healthy gums are essential for a healthy tooth and can be recognized by their soft pink color. Plaque, which basically consists almost entirely of bacteria, can accumulate between the gums and the tooth.
Plaque is a tough whitish film that can be easily removed by thorough brushing of the teeth . If oral hygiene is neglected, plaque can be the basis for caries, gingivitis and periodontitis. Over time, it hardens into tartar, which can then only be removed mechanically by the dentist.
Straight and even tooth structures
The arrangement of the teeth is not always perfect. If the teeth grow crooked, it is best to help with braces when you are young, as the jaw is still growing and the tooth position is correspondingly more malleable at this time.
An additional problem is the growth of the wisdom teeth. Over the generations, the human jaw has become smaller, which is why it often offers too little space for the wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth erupt in most people early in adulthood and can put pressure on the other teeth in the dentition, changing their position.
Therefore, by the age of 17 at the latest, a discussion with the dentist should be held as to whether the wisdom teeth can remain in the jaw or should be extracted.
Clean interdental spaces
Even with crooked teeth, the teeth can be quite healthy, but people with crooked teeth must pay particular attention to the cleanliness of the interdental spaces. Here it is important to use dental floss every day and to have your teeth checked for dirt by the dentist every year.
Of course, caring for the interdental spaces is also important with straight teeth, because plaque can also form here, which can cause tooth decay, gingivitis and periodontitis.
Healthy Enamel
Tooth enamel is the protective layer of the teeth and requires special care because this layer can no longer be reproduced by the body. The enamel lightens the color of the tooth a little, so that teeth with damaged and thin enamel appear more yellow than the remaining, healthy teeth. Acidic food and drink in particular can attack tooth enamel, but night-time teeth grinding can wear away the protective layer on the teeth over the years.
Toothpaste with added fluoride helps strengthen tooth enamel by converting the natural hydroxyapatite in tooth enamel to fluoroapatite. Fluorapatite is more acid resistant and helps ward off tooth decay.
The only thing that helps against grinding your teeth is a splint, which has to be worn overnight and is usually paid for by health insurance companies.
High quality fillings
Caries can hardly be avoided in the course of life. Therefore, it is important to identify tooth decay quickly – and to have it treated. Even with a filling, a tooth can still be healthy and fully functional.
The best filling materials are gold and ceramic, but inexpensive plastic fillings can also be a sensible decision, but they must be checked annually by the dentist.
Healthy teeth for life
Teeth are part of the body and need to be taken care of to remain healthy for years to come. In addition to thorough dental hygiene and annual dental check-ups, it is therefore also important to avoid certain things that are bad for your teeth. This is the only way to maintain healthy teeth into old age.
