Picture the scene. Rambo is on a ledge. He’s being chased down, he’s injured, and losing blood. So, what does he do? He sews the edges of his wound together! That’s just a movie, I hear you say.

Okay, how about Aron Ralston? While exploring the Canyonlands National Park, a suspended boulder dislodged as he climbed down from it. The boulder smashed his left hand. This alone would have been excruciating and would make climbing out of the slot canyon difficult, to

say the least. But the boulder went on to crush his right hand against the canyon wall. And trapped it there. Ralston had no way to call for help and no one knew where he was. He was trapped there for 172 hours. To free himself, he had to break his bones and then, using his smashed left hand and a blunt penknife, cut off his arm.

These are the men that men aspire to be. Brave, heroic, and…afraid of the dentist.

To be fair, I have no clue if Stallone or Ralston are afraid of the dentist. But, according to research, most men avoid the dentist. The excuses they use include ‘I’m too busy, I can’t get the time off work, I’ll just take a pain killer, I’m fine, it’s too expensive.’

You would assume then those men would naturally take exceptionally good care of their teeth, right? Wrong. Compared to women, men are less likely to brush their teeth after every meal, or even twice a day, and are more likely to have untreated dental decay.

There are two reasons why good dental care is important:

REASON 1: MONEY

• When problems do occur, they’re caught early, and so are easier, therefore less expensive, to treat. Save your money – visit the dentist twice a year and brush twice a day, minimum.

REASON 2: YOUR HEALTH

• Tooth decay results in bad breath. So bad that the air around you turns green. Ever notice people standing down-wind of you are suddenly ‘too busy to talk right now and will catch up with you later, on the phone’? It might be time to visit the dentist. Regular preventive dental care helps to prevent tooth decay and cavities.
• Good dental care makes your heart, not to mention other parts of your body, healthier and stronger. New Zealand’s biggest killer is heart disease. It claims 16 to 18 lives every day and 6000 every year. One of the factors contributing to heart disease is…you guessed it, gum disease – periodontitis. According to research, it also contributes to poor prostate health and erectile dysfunction.

Good oral hygiene and regular visits to the dentist prevents bad breath, cavities, gum disease, periodontitis, and by extension – heart disease, poor prostate health, and erectile dysfunction.

Team Dental has a surgery in each region with an after-hours or weekend option for our clients. Don’t let lockdown keep you away – you can book ahead and schedule it into your diary.

Give us a Call or send us a message. We’d love to hear from you.