Oral and Dental Health

Good oral and dental health helps you speak clearly, eat nutritious foods, show emotions, and enjoy life. Keeping your teeth and mouth healthy is important at every stage of life.

Overview

Good oral health supports your overall health and well-being. Oral health refers to health of the teeth, gums, and the bone that supports the teeth, and surrounding areas of your face and jaw.

Oral health is important for people of all ages. But it can become more of a challenge as you get older. Thanks to advances in oral health research, today’s older adults are keeping their natural teeth longer compared with previous generations. If you protect your oral health with habits like brushing and flossing, there’s a good chance that you can keep your teeth for a lifetime.

Certain groups can face particular challenges in protecting their oral health. This can include babies and children, pregnant women, and people with other health problems, such as diabetes, arthritis, and dementia.

The good news is that you can take steps to keep your mouth and teeth healthy.

Tips For Oral and Dental Health

  • Floss and brush teeth daily. (If you’re a caregiver for someone who can’t brush or floss his/her own teeth, you’ll need to help.)
  • Drinking water with the right amount of fluoride protects your teeth throughout the day. Learn the fluoride content of your community’s water or check with your water utility company.
  • Visit your dentist regularly, even if you have no natural teeth and wear dentures.
  • Eat a well-balanced diet. Limit sweets and sugary drinks, such as soda.
  • Avoid all forms of tobacco and alcohol. They can raise the risk for oral and throat cancers.
  • If a medicine is causing dry mouth, ask your doctor if an alternative could be used instead. If dry mouth continues, drink plenty of water, and chew sugarless gum.

Brushing Tips

  • Use fluoride toothpaste to protect teeth from tooth decay. Fluoride helps to strengthen the tooth’s hard outer surface, called enamel.
  • Angle the bristles toward the gumline so they clean between the gums and teeth.
  • Brush gently using small, circular motions — do not scrub hard back and forth.
  • Brush all sides of each tooth, including the front, back, and chewing surfaces.
  • Brush your tongue.
  • Start brushing your child’s teeth as soon as the first tooth erupts. For children under 3 years of age, use a smear (rice-sized) amount and for ages 3 to 6, use only a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. Encourage your child to spit out the toothpaste rather than swallow it.
  • Replace your toothbrush when the bristles become worn.

Flossing Tips

  • Use a string of floss about 18 inches or more, with the unused floss wrapped around the middle and ring fingers of both hands.
  • Grip the floss between the thumb and index finger of each hand.
  • Ease the floss gently between the teeth until it reaches the gumline. Don’t force the floss into place, as this could harm the gums.
  • Curve the floss like the letter “C” around the side of each tooth and slide the floss up and down under the gum.
  • Use a sawing motion to slide the floss through the contact area between teeth rather than snapping it, which can cause pain and damage the delicate tissue between the teeth.
  • Rinse your mouth with water after you floss.

Tips for People Who Find Brushing or Flossing Difficult

People with arthritis or other conditions that limit hand motion may find it hard to hold and use a toothbrush or dental floss. These tips can help:

  • Use an electric or battery-operated toothbrush.
  • Buy a toothbrush with a larger handle.
  • Attach the toothbrush handle to your hand with a wide elastic band.
  • Use a floss holder, floss threader, water flosser, or tiny interdental brushes.

Dental Visits

  • Visit the dentist for routine check-ups and professional cleaning.
  • If you are at a high risk for tooth decay (for example, if you have a dry mouth because of medicines you take), your dentist or dental hygienist may give you a fluoride treatment during your dental visit, such as a varnish or foam. Your dentist may also recommend a fluoride gel or mouth rinse for home use.

Dental Sealants

  • Dental sealants are thin, plastic coatings painted onto the chewing surfaces of the back teeth can help avoid cavities. The sealants cover the tooth surfaces and form a barrier that protects teeth.
  • Since most cavities in children and adolescents develop in the molars, it’s best to get these teeth sealed as soon as they come in.

Oral Health and Pregnancy

Oral health problems during pregnancy have been linked to adverse birth outcomes for both mother and baby, such as preterm birth and low birth weight. Hormonal changes may cause pregnant women to develop gingivitis and experience gums that are swollen and bleed easily.

If you are planning to become pregnant, have a dental checkup. During pregnancy, it is especially important to practice good oral hygiene to maintain the health of your gums.

HIV/AIDS & Oral Health

People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), are at special risk for oral health problems because HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system and makes it harder to fight off infection. Some of the most common oral health problems for people with HIV/AIDS are chronic dry mouth, gum disease (gingivitis), bone loss around the teeth (periodontitis), canker sores, oral warts, fever blisters, thrush (oral candidiasis), hairy leukoplakia (which causes a rough, white patch on the tongue), and tooth decay. Combination antiretroviral therapy, which is used to treat HIV and restore immune system function, has made some oral health problems less common.

Talk to your dentist or doctor about what treatment might work for you.

Find Clinical Trials

Clinical trials uncover better ways to prevent, diagnose, treat, and understand diseases and conditions. To ensure results apply to everyone, volunteers of all ages, sexes, and backgrounds, including both healthy individuals and those with specific medical conditions, are needed. Find clinical trials on oral and dental health.

Find Affordable Dental Care

NIH does not provide dental care or financial assistance for care. We are a research facility. The following resources may help you find affordable dental care:

  • Dental schools: Some dental schools have clinics where students get experience treating patients at a reduced cost, supervised by qualified dentists. You can find a list of dental schools here.
  • Dental hygiene schools: These may offer supervised, low-cost care as part of the training experience for dental hygienists. You can find a list of dental hygiene schools here.
  • County or state health departments: Call your county or state health department to find dental clinics near you that offer free or reduced-cost dental care. See a list of state oral health programs.
  • Community health centers: To locate a community health center near you that offers dental services, visit this searchable database of health centers. Health centers are in most cities and many rural areas, and you pay what you can afford, based on your income.
  • United Way: United Way chapters may be able to direct you to free or reduced-cost dental services in your community. Dial 211 to reach a local United Way chapter or visit the United Way website.
  • Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): Medicaid and CHIP are state-run programs that provides medical benefits to eligible individuals and families; most states offer limited dental services for adults, while some provide comprehensive services. States are required to provide dental benefits for children covered by Medicaid and CHIP. Visit the Medicaid website and click on “Learn How to Apply for Coverage” or contact your state Medicaid program. To find children’s dental care programs in your state, visit Insure Kids Now.
  • Medicare is a federal health insurance program for people 65 and older and for people under 65 with specific disabilities. Medicare only covers dental services related to certain medical conditions or treatments. It does not cover dentures or most routine care like checkups, cleanings, or fillings. Visit Medicare Dental Services.

Community Support

Note: This resource list is for informational purposes only. It is not comprehensive, and an organization’s inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by NIH. 

Research Information

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. NIH invests most of its budget in medical research seeking to enhance life and to reduce illness and disability. NIH-funded research has led to breakthroughs and new treatments helping people live longer, healthier lives, and building the research foundation that drives discovery.

NIH supports research to gain knowledge about dental, oral, and craniofacial health and disease, and then translate those findings into prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies to improve overall health for all individuals and communities across the lifespan.

Find NIH-funded research projects using NIH RePORTER, a searchable database of current and past research projects supported by NIH and other federal agencies.  

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