To maintain a healthy smile throughout one’s lifetime, proper dental hygiene is essential. Even if you have been complimented on the appearance of your teeth, it is essential to practice good oral hygiene on a daily basis in order to keep any potential issues at bay. This involves utilizing the appropriate products for dental care and being mindful of the practices you engage in on a regular basis.
When your teeth and gums are healthy, it is much simpler to eat well and to take pleasure in eating excellent cuisine. There are a number of factors that might influence your dental health, but with the right maintenance, your teeth and gums should remain healthy even as you get older.
The following are some recommended practices for taking care of your teeth.
1. Cleaning One’s Teeth
Brushing your teeth on a daily basis is one of the quickest and easiest ways to maintain clean teeth. The first and most important thing that any dentist will tell you to do is to brush your teeth twice a day. However, how you brush and how you hold the toothbrush are also very significant aspects of the process. When you brush your teeth, you should hold the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle above the gum line. This will ensure that the bristles make contact with the tooth surface as well as the gum line. To ensure that the majority of the surfaces of all of your teeth are cleaned, you should brush your teeth for at least two minutes each time. After you have completed brushing your teeth, the next step in your oral hygiene routine is to clean your tongue. Brush the top of the tongue as well as the roof of the mouth to remove bacteria and ensure that there are no germs present in the mouth, which will prevent the onset of halitosis (poor breath).
It is recommended that you brush your teeth at least twice each day in order to prevent the accumulation of bacteria on your teeth.
2. Use of dental floss
Even after brushing your teeth, at least forty percent of the surface of your teeth will not have been cleaned if you do not floss. This is something that everyone is aware of, but it is important to keep in mind. When you brush your teeth normally, food particles and other potentially harmful microorganisms are not eliminated from your teeth as effectively as they are when you floss. In addition to this, it enables you to clean areas deep between the teeth that a toothbrush cannot access and that mouthwash cannot clean either. Because of this, it is recommended that you floss at least once every day.
3. Refrain from using tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco and alcoholic beverages.
Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do to protect your teeth from the serious damage tobacco causes. If you want to prevent oral cancer and other periodontal illnesses, the best thing is to abstain from using cigarettes and any other tobacco based products. Alcohol is another substance that, in addition to tobacco, can wreak havoc on your oral health and lead to tooth decay. Alcohol dries out the mouth and hence rendering you more susceptible to tooth decay and gum disease.
Dental health can be negatively impacted by the use of these products, and should you notice symptoms such as bleeding gums, or anything out of the ordinary in your teeth and gums, kindly seek professional advise, for which all of our knowledgeable dentists at Karen Dental Clinic will be more than happy to help.
4. Minimize the consumption of tea, coffee, and carbonated drinks such as sodas
All things in moderation are allowed, however, excessive consumption of these beverages can wreck havoc on your dental health. Drinking soda and other carbonated drinks can cause tooth decay and other dental issues by weakening your teeth and eroding tooth enamel. The most common beverages known to discolour teeth are tea and coffee. These beverages have components that may result in tooth discoloration and staining if consumed regularly.
5. Maintain a Balanced and Healthy Diet
Calcium, as well as other vitamins and minerals, in the correct amounts is necessary for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Consuming nutritious meals like milk, yogurt, cheese, orange juice, and other foods rich in vitamins and calcium is beneficial for you. Other examples of such foods include fish, leafy greens, beans and almonds.
Recommended: Dental health issues can be brought on by either an abundance of vitamins in the body or a deficit of vitamins in the body. Therefore, watch how much and how often you eat, and make sure it’s never too much or too little.
6. Make an appointment with a dentist for regular checkups.
In order to ensure that your oral health is maintained in the best possible condition, you should see a dentist at least once every six months. Your dental health will be examined thoroughly during these appointments in order to detect any potential issues and ensure that the necessary measures are taken. All of our dentists at Karen Dental Clinic are available to give you their expert opinion in regards to your dental health.
7. Minimize your intake of foods that are high in sugar.
What effects does eating foods high in sugar have on the body? Sugars will be broken down by the bacteria, which will result in the production of acids, which will lead to an accumulation of acid on the teeth. It is important to brush your teeth and use a fluoride mouthwash as soon as possible after eating anything that is high in sugar or that could potentially cause dental problems. This will ensure that any bacteria and sugar that may have been left behind will be removed.
8. Be Sure to Use a Mouth guard during contact sports.
Teeth are some of our most valuable assets, and therefore it is utmost importance to make sure that you protect your mouth and teeth from any injury by wearing a mouth guard or a helmet whenever you participate in any sort of contact sports. This will keep your mouth and teeth from suffering any kind of injury.
9. Chewing sugarless gum and rinsing your mouth with an antibacterial mouth rinse.
Chewing gum is an effective method for stimulating the production of saliva in the mouth. Once saliva begins to flow into the mouth, it neutralizes the acid that is produced by bacteria, hence functioning as a natural defense mechanism for the teeth. In addition, use an antibacterial mouth wash to rinse your mouth in order to avoid tooth decay as well as problems with your gums.
10. Make Sure That Your Toothpaste and Water Have the right amounts of Fluoride in them.
Your tooth enamel can be strengthened and made less susceptible to tooth decay when fluoride is present in your toothpaste and your drinking water. It is recommended, however, that you do not take in excessive amounts of fluoride because there are various issues that are related with taking in excessive amounts of fluoride. Always ensure the water supply in your homes contains the right amounts of fluoride. You can discuss with our dentists here at Karen Dental Clinic about the correct amount of fluoride for good dental health.
To sum it all up,
You should floss your teeth on a regular basis in addition to brushing them twice daily.
Choose nutritious foods and minimize the amount of sugar and foods high in acid in your diet.
Visit your dentist at least every six months.
Karen Dental Clinic cares about your dental health!
