Dental health plays a crucial role in your overall wellness. With good oral health, you will be able to eat and speak properly and, at the same time, enjoy facing your day with a bright smile. As an adult, you do not have the comfort of growing your teeth back when they fall off, or you lose them as the kids do. The only way to have teeth after they fall out or you lose them is to have synthetic replacements like dental implants and dentures.
Therefore, you should care for your teeth to ensure they function correctly. While visiting your dentist ensures that they treat and help you protect your teeth, it is your responsibility to ensure your teeth remain strong and healthy. You incorporate several practices into your life to ensure that your dental visits are few. The first step is creating a routine using these simple and effective dental care steps to help keep your oral health in top-notch condition.
Brush Your Teeth Twice Daily
Brushing your teeth at least twice daily is essential as it helps prevent plaque build-up. Plaque is the film of bacteria that coats your teeth when you have some leftover food particles. Plaque formation will eventually lead to the formation of dental cavities and decay. While brushing your teeth, you should consider all surfaces, including inner sections, outer portions, and chewing surfaces. You should brush for at least two minutes two times a day.
If you have children, make brushing a fun activity that they will look out for and ensure you introduce the concept early in their lives. You can use a timer to ensure they utilize the two minutes while brushing, or you could come up with songs and play them while they brush. While brushing, ensure that you spend at least 30 seconds on each part of your mouth:
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The upper left side
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Upper right side
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Lower left side
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The lower right side of your mouth
While brushing, use the correct brushing technique to ensure you clean your teeth, tongue, and mouth correctly without damaging the tissues surrounding your mouth. While brushing, ensure you are using a soft-bristled brush. Clean all your teeth’s surfaces by beginning brushing at the gum line, ensure you situate your brush at a 45° angle, then brush the inside, the outside, and all the surfaces of your premolars and molars. From there, brush the rest of your teeth, brushing every surface, cranny, and nook. Lastly, gently brush your tongue and gums, and spit out the excess toothpaste.
Wait for a few seconds before rinsing your mouth to ensure the fluoride in the toothpaste is not washed away immediately but has time to set on your teeth. You can buy either an electric or a regular toothbrush. For a standard brush, buy one that has a compact head and is designed with round-end bristles. For an electric toothbrush, go for one with an oscillating or a rotating head.
Make A Regular Habit of Scraping Your Tongue
One way of ensuring bacteria do not thrive in your mouth is to use a tongue scraper. A tongue scraper will help rinse away oral bacteria from your mouth. You can ensure you scrap your tongue daily by buying a scraper toothbrush, which will help you remember to scrape while brushing. A tongue scraper will help you have a fresh breath as it will remove bacteria leading to a foul odor.
Practice Flossing Daily
It would be best to try flossing daily; you can do this at night before brushing your teeth. Flossing helps in removing any leftover food particles that a brush can not reach and dislodge. Flossing may seem tedious, especially if you start, but it will come when you make one of your daily routines.
You can use the following steps while flossing;
Use floss about 18 inches long, winding most of the floss around your middle fingers; while you are flossing; do not apply a lot of pressure on the teeth but slide the floss stick slowly up and down along your tooth. Use tiny circular and some back and forth motions while flossing. Remember to floss in tight spaces since your toothbrush can not reach them. After flossing, remember to rinse your mouth. Apart from using a regular floss stick, you can also use pre-threaded or water flosses to floss.
When you ignore flossing, plaque can build up from the leftover food particles, which a brush can not dislodge, and lead to dental cavities. To avoid and prevent plaque build-up, you can start slowly and add a few minutes to floss to your daily routine. If you feel pain when you start flossing, do not panic and stop as this is a normal reaction to sensitive gums. But when you visit your dentist, be sure to mention this if it continues.
Use A Mouthwash Containing Fluoride
While buying your toothpaste, choose one with a high amount of fluoride, antibacterial, and chlorhexidine. Studies show that these ingredients help control plaque build-up and gingivitis. You can check the fluoride and other contents on the toothpaste packaging. Fluoride will help in tooth decay prevention.
After brushing your teeth, you can then use a mouthwash containing fluoride, and by doing this, you will ensure your teeth retain some fluoride. When you rinse your mouth after brushing, you may rinse out the fluoride, but when you use a mouthwash containing fluoride, you ensure that your teeth benefit from fluoride. Also, you should avoid eating or drinking immediately after guggling your mouth with a mouthwash to let the fluoride take maximum effect.
Lead A Dental-Friendly Lifestyle
Your lifestyle plays a significant role and impacts your oral health in the end. Therefore ensure that your lifestyle does not contribute to the deterioration of your oral health. The American Dental Association(ADA) recommends the following oral health care, which, when diligently followed, will ensure your dental health is in excellent condition:
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Try drinking fluoridated water regularly.
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Avoid tobacco smoking, or give up the habit as it will lead to teeth staining.
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Eat a well-balanced and healthy diet. Regarding your eating habits, try to minimize the consumption of sugary foodstuffs, especially sweets.
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Avoid oral piercing that can damage your tongue and gums.
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If you are suffering from gum diseases, use antimicrobial toothpaste.
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Use fluoridated mouth rinses if your teeth are prone to cavities.
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Avoid any DIY dental treatments that may end up harming your teeth.
Replace Your Toothbrush After Every Three Months
You should change your toothbrush every three months to keep it in good shape. If you notice your toothbrush is damaged or frayed, change it immediately as it can not clean your teeth properly, and the frayed bristles could end up injuring your gums. Additionally, changing your toothbrush every three months ensures you keep it clean. When changing your toothbrush, make a wise decision and choose one that will help you maintain a bright smile.
There are several varieties of toothbrushes to choose from; ensure that you select an electronic or a soft-bristled one, as they will serve you well, providing your mouth remains clean at all times. The electronic and soft-bristled toothbrushes will help you clean your mouth gently without inflicting damages like enamel loss or receding gums that a hard scrub inflicts.
Always clean and rinse your toothbrush after use and keep it where it can dry. If you have been sick, you do not have to wait three months to change your toothbrush. Change it immediately to prevent the re-introduction of bacteria in your mouth.
Eat A Healthy Diet
Ensure you take a well-balanced meal, and avoid taking sweets. Sugary foodstuffs promote plaque build-up, resulting in bacteria thriving in your mouth. If you have a sweet tooth, ensure you brush immediately or rinse your mouth with water, which will help protect your teeth. You can also replace sweets as snacks with something like a carrot. Introducing foods with a high calcium level is vital as they will help strengthen your teeth. Introduce leafy greens, yogurt, almonds, and cheese to your diet, as these foods will help improve your teeth.
Regarding your diet, ensure you eat crunchy fresh produce as it is the best choice for your teeth. This product will not provide healthy fiber, but it will help your jaw. Train your kids to eat hard-to-chew food to help their jaws develop well.
Make Proper Use of Dental Hygiene Aids and Products
Apart from regular brushing and flossing, you can keep your teeth in excellent condition by using dental hygiene products and supplemental aids. These dental health products and supplementary aids are mouthwash, tongue cleaners, irrigators, and interdental cleaners. Remember to use these products together with brushing and flossing. It would help if you did not stop brushing or flossing because you use dental hygiene products.
Drink Plenty Of Water
When you drink plenty of water, you will keep your body hydrated. Sufficient hydration helps your mouth maintain a healthy flow of saliva. Saliva is essential as it helps remove leftover food particles in your mouth, ensuring there is no plaque buildup. Sufficient saliva ensures you do not suffer from a dry mouth and keeps your mouth moist and comfortable.
Drink Less Coffee and Tea
Most people rely on a cup of coffee or tea to face their day, but these drinks can be embedded on your teeth' ridges and cracks, staining them. Sometimes, you may take your coffee with lots of sugar, which will break down to its acidic level and encourage bacteria to thrive in your mouth. These bacteria will erode your enamel, weakening it, which results in cavity formation. If you can not face your day without a coffee or a cup of coffee, consider taking it using a straw, as this will reduce the amount of coffee, tea, and sugar that reaches your teeth.
Avoid Smoking
Smoking has several health concerns like gum disease, oral cancer, teeth loss, and staining. Therefore you should avoid smoking and if you have already started, then try quitting.
Talk To Your Dentist About Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are a treatment option that fills in the grooves and depressions in your premolars and molars. By having dental sealants, you will be in a position to help protect your premolars and molars from plate build-up and cavities. Dental sealants are ideal solutions for teens and children as they do not brush as often as adults.
Frequently Examine Your Mouth At Home
Although regular dental checkups are an excellent way to care for any oral health issue, sometimes issues can arise between visits. It would help if you habitually check the inside part of your mouth as you brush or floss. What is essential is to ensure you regularly check for anything that might seem off or if anything has changed. If you note anything out of the ordinary, let your dentist know during your next visit. Also, if you notice you are bleeding, you do not have to wait for your next appointment but should visit your dentist immediately.
Avoid Snacking Between Meals
You will realize brushing twice a day means you do so in the morning and at night. But what happens when you have a snack later on at night? It would help if you brushed afterward. Most snacks contain sugar and acids, such as ice cream or cookies. This sugar will convert into acid, eroding your teeth' enamel, leading to cavities and tooth decay.
While most of these snacks satisfy your craving, they help bacteria thrive in your mouth. Since you will be asleep for several hours, you will give the bacteria ample time to fester and thrive. It will be beneficial to avoid snacking between meals, and if you must, then brush or rinse your mouth with water.
Treat and Manage Any Underlying Illnesses
If you have an underlying illness like diabetes, you must work hard and ensure you control the condition. Once you have managed your disease, you will minimize the risk of running other complications, which include gum diseases. You will realize that treating some illnesses like gum diseases may result in lower blood sugar in your body, which would be detrimental to your overall health. Also, some medications may result in a dry mouth; if you notice that your mouth is dry, ask your doctor to change your medication. It would be best if you drank plenty of water when you have a dry mouth while waiting for your doctor to change the medicine causing dry mouth. If your doctor can not change your medication for one reason or another, try chewing sugarless gums while avoiding alcoholic drinks, as they can contribute to a dry mouth.
Start and Encourage Oral Hygiene Habits Early on
It is essential to ensure that your children learn good oral habits from an early age. When your children start good oral habits early, they will maintain them even as they age. Always make brushing as entertaining as possible as many children do not like brushing. Once the habit sticks, it will be part of their daily routine.
Avoid Chewing on Hard Food Particles or Using Your Teeth as Tools
You should avoid chewing on hard foodstuffs like ice and popcorn kennels as they may crack your teeth’s enamel. When your enamel cracks, it will provide perfect hiding spots for bacteria. Cracked teeth can also lead to bad breath as bacteria will thrive in the gap, which may be difficult to clean. Also, please avoid using your teeth as tools where you open bottle tops with them. You may end up with a chipped tooth while opening a bottle of soda. If you have the terrible habit of chewing on your fingernails, pencils, or pens, you should try to stop as this habit could lead to damaged or chipped teeth.
It is crucial to avoid chewing or biting extremely hard foodstuffs with your incisors, especially if you have any dental work done on you, like dental veneers. Biting crunchy food like crisps or almonds with your front teeth or incisors could end up damaging or chipping them. You should chew food with your back teeth as they have a larger surface area and can handle the pressure you put on them while chewing.
Take Multivitamin supplements
To maintain and maintain your dental health, you will need to take multivitamin supplements as they contain adequate levels of vitamin D and calcium, which are essential for keeping your teeth healthy and strong.
Form a Habit of Chewing a Sugar-Free Gum After Meals
Some sugar-free gums contain xylitol, an ingredient that helps your teeth against tooth decay. Sugar-free gums will also help your mouth produce more saliva, which will help clean your mouth after eating. Also, chewing sugar-free bubble gum will help clean the surfaces of your back teeth.
Avoid Gummy or Sticky Foods
Gummy or sticky food like caramel, dried fruits, toffees, and gummy worms could damage your dental work. Prolonged use of sticky food could end up pulling your filling or crown out, damaging your dental work.
Make Regular Visits To Your Dentist
You must visit your dentist at least twice a year, as, during these visits, your dentist will notice if there is the possibility of any dental issue arising and necessary steps to prevent it. Also, your dentist will notice if you have any dental health issues and treat them early. Your dentist will also thoroughly clean your teeth to help remove any plaque, ensuring that bacteria do not thrive in your mouth, leading to bad breath and dental cavities. Additionally, your dentist will recommend ways to improve your dental health and develop tailor-made health care habits that will help improve your oral health.
Contact Tarzana Dentist
As you may realize, dental health is crucial to your overall well-being. Gingivitis or gum disease can be linked to several health concerns such as stroke, heart diseases, preterm labor, and diabetes. Taking your dental health seriously and taking the necessary steps to keep it in excellent condition is essential. Brushing and flossing may not be enough, and you should change your lifestyle to fit and accommodate your dental needs. At Tarzana Dental Care, our oral health specialists will examine and recommend the best dental practices. If you have any oral health issues, do not hesitate to call us at 818-708-3232, and we will assist you.