What is the most important tool you will ever use in your life, and that in fact you were born with? Aside from your hands, it is your teeth. The hardest part of your body, it is responsible for several important bodily functions. The obvious is chewing and proper digestion; mastication makes it possible to break up hard and large objects, but it also crushes even small materials so that acids in the stomach can reach them more easily. A blender could do the job, but would you want to eat your hamburgers as milk shakes for the rest of your life?

Teeth are also essential for communication. Many sounds depend on the teeth, and whistling is nearly impossible without them. Many people are familiar with how toothless individual sound, and then how normally they speak when given full dentures. Any person who has been deprived of their teeth due to injury, disease, or surgery can testify how basic teeth are, and how even normal conversation is impaired when they are gone.

It may seem less important, but teeth also play an important role in the structure of the face. A person not missing any teeth has a healthy and useful jaw line, while missing teeth cause the lips to depress, creating a shriveled and old appearance. There is no need for a young man, or anyone for that matter, to appear old and unattractive. Take care of your teeth, and enjoy youth in a sense for a lifetime.

Given all these reasons to take care of teeth, it is a shame so many people defy common sense with improper diet, inconsistent brushing, and doing general things to damage teeth such as smoking and fist fighting. Diet is on of the trickier practices, but is important. Just because a person brushes every day, does not mean their teeth is protected. Sugars are eaten by bacteria immediately, and the bacteria secrete an acid as waste, and that acid extracts the minerals from the teeth, weakening the enamel. Grain products quickly break down into sugars, and bacteria consume them as quickly. Vegetables, on the other hand, are both good for you and tend to kill bacteria by their own biological properties.

Brushing several times a day provides the best protection, and it is better to brush in the evening than in the morning. The sooner you brush, the less time bacteria have to dine on particles. As a final word, if fighting for a sport, be sure to wear a mouth guard. Try not to fight violently at all. Don’t forget to visit the dentist.