Medical professionals (from research scientists to doctors and dentists) gain a lot of their knowledge about patient needs and care from researching various groups of people, observing and speaking with their patients, and studying the findings of exams and diagnostic testing.
The goal of any medical professional is first not to harm, but every medical professional, including your dentist in Southlake, Texas, strives to do much more than “not harm,” as indicated by the Hippocratic Oath.
Any great dentist will want what’s best for their patients and provide the best in-office care possible while teaching them how to practice excellent oral hygiene for the mouth, teeth, and gums at home.
In order to achieve that perfect balance between in-office and at-home dental health, your dentist will spend a great deal of time with you prior to beginning any dental work. Education is key to understanding the importance of dental health.
Your Southlake dentist and dental team will first gather a medical history and ask how well your dental health has been in recent years. What some dentists learn is that many people can do better when it comes to taking care of their dental health. There are research groups that study people and how they approach their own dental health. One such study will be examined here.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), in 2019, published a study by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) team indicating how adults over the age of 30 feel about how well they’re keeping up with their dental care (and how that affects their actual dental health).
Before getting into the meat of the 2019 study regarding adult perceptions of their dental health, here’s a little bit about NHANES straight from the CDC website: “The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews and physical examinations.”
NHANES is a crucial program of the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and produces health statistics for the United States. NHANES began conducting surveys since its inception in the 1960s and conducts surveys involving approximately 5,000 people each year from all walks of life all over the United States.
The information gathered is then organized and eventually published for public consumption. While the research findings are very “heavy” with a great deal of scientific language, they can be broken down for the layperson to understand. The findings are almost always truly remarkable and shed a great big light on what is going on with the health and well-being of Americans.
The Results of the NHANES Study
Simply put, the 2019 study evaluated over 5,800 adults over 30 to determine how their self-perceived dental care was related to their actual dental health.
The study’s findings were quite simple: People who did not regularly go to the dentist (twice yearly) were not happy with their dental health (and lacked good dental health).
Almost 30% of the adults surveyed reported they were unhappy with their oral health, and almost 54% reported they were overdue with dental care.
One of the most telling sentences of the entire study was this: “Individuals unsatisfied with their oral health were less likely to have a dental visit in the past 12 months compared to those who were satisfied with their oral health (57 versus 25 percent).”
So, in short, going to the dentist (at least for the group of adults in this NHANES study) means you’ll likely be happier with your dental health. Regular care by your dentist in Southlake, Texas, can change your life and improve your dental health.
Better dental health may lead to improved general health, and your mental health can only improve when your mouth, teeth, and gums are healthy. You’ll feel better about yourself, your confidence may increase, and you may be able to attain goals you’ve previously postponed due to dental challenges.
Please Make an Appointment with Your Southlake Dentist Today
Please call the Southlake dentists at Star Image Dental Boutique & Oral Surgery today by calling (817) 587-4566. General dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, restorative dentistry, sedation dentistry, implant dentistry, and oral surgery, when done by skillful, knowledgeable, experienced dentists like ours, will change your life.
You can also fill out our online contact form, so one of our Southlake dental team members may reach out to answer questions or schedule a new patient evaluation. You’ll be much happier with your dental health if you’re in good hands with an excellent Southlake dentist.
