This classic concept goes back to the Law of Maintenance Post I did last year. The lesson there was if you don’t take care of the things you value in life, you’ll wish you had when you no longer have them.
Maintenance is the law of life. The most common things Americans value when it comes to their health and the health of their family is their teeth! Parents know that if they teach their child how to brush, floss, rinse, and maintain their teeth as they grow up they out run serious complications to their dental health when they become adults. The American Dental Association has done a remarkable job educating the public on why dental health is so important. You can and WILL lost your teeth.
Admittedly, I did not understand how tooth alignment was so important to maintaining the health of the teeth and gums. I went into Invisalign on January 10th 2018. At first I was so excited to think that my alignment would be as attractive at it was when I was in high school. I did not need braces in school, my teeth crowded from the canine to the first molar over time in my mid twenties. I saved and saved and finally made the appointment. My local orthodontic office was phenomenal at accommodating me and hearing my concerns. I got a free set of X rays and consultation as well as honest up front pricing as my insurance only covered orthodontic care to the age of 19. At 32 I was way past that! I signed all my paper work and my liners were ordered. The process had begun.
It didn’t take long for me to start realizing how important tooth alignment is for kids and teenagers. Changing alignment for adults with orthodontic treatment works…but it is not without pain. The process is much smoother for youngsters. During the process of alignment correction I suffered a fractured molar and a fractured incisor. My crowded teeth did not line up properly which led to chips and weak spots. After they moved into a functional position the teeth gave out due to long term weakness and vulnerability and fractured. If I failed to wear my liners for one day, I lost progress, even one night! Lesson learned- wear your retainer and get orthodontic care as soon as you can if you need it! Now let’s talk about the long term damage crowding does to teeth from the dentist perspective. Yesterday I visited my regular dentist (who is phenomenal by the way) Dr. Tanya Peterson of Heart of the City Dental. She always wanted an extra x ray called “the distal on 6”. I never understood why- until now. Once my teeth were aligned properly I could finally see what she was watching for the last three years. There were spots of de calcification present at the edges of my teeth where they were formerly crowded. We snapped a picture of it and it all made sense why damage would accrue there. My heart sank as I knew I would have to work extra hard to make sure those teeth were cared for over their lifespan. The damage could become permanent and it was my responsibility. Taking your health for granted is the same thing as hurting yourself. We all pay for it in the end. If you think the bills are high, think of the cost of simply being unhealthy.
This is the same chiropractic wellness concept I have taught my own patients over the course of my years of practice. If you take care of your spinal problems that cause you neck pain or headaches, you don’t have to live with the problem. If you go through postural correction, maintain it with regular visits. Once your pain comes back the accrued damage leads to a permanent condition you will have to monitor for life. Health is not a right it is a privilege. You cannot buy it back once it’s gone. Spinal hygiene is exactly the same as dental hygiene, and even more closely related to orthodontics. Function meets structure, a chiropractic key for more than one hundred years.
In closing I would like to share that I am thrilled to have the expert eyes watching my health that I do, and to now enjoy the superb quality work of Dr. Suzan Ekim of Ekim Orthodontics in Burnsville. I have learned so much and am pleased to know that I share the same chiropractic wellness concept with my dental and orthodontic providers.