If you want to know the best way to protect your oral health, then you just need to maintain healthy habits, such as brushing your teeth regularly and visiting your dental specialist two times per year. Specialists approve that patients who understand the need for preventive dentistry have the most healthy smiles. Remember that it's never too late to improve your dental habits!
Your teeth and gums get covered with an invisible thin film of bacteria known as plaque. This plaque consumes sugar and starch, and produces damaging acid. This acid destroys your gums and erodes tooth enamel, putting your oral health in danger. Thankfully, dentists can easily eliminate plaque and tartar. Maintaining a proper dental hygiene routine is the ideal method to get a healthy mouth. To prevent cavities and gum disease, you should brush your teeth twice a day and practice other useful dental hygiene habits.
Here are the top five tips on how to maintain healthy teeth and gums:
1. Floss your teeth once a day
Usually, plaque occurs in the areas where toothbrush bristles can't reach. To get rid of plaque that is hidden between your teeth and along the gum line, floss at least once a day. Flossing your teeth helps avoid an unpleasant surprise at your subsequent teeth cleaning and dental checkup prevents cavities from spreading in between teeth.
2. Avoid cigarettes, stop chewing tobacco, and restrict alcohol consumption
One of the worst habits for your oral health is smoking. Smoking causes oral cancer, gum disease, tooth loss, plaque and tartar buildup, and tooth discoloration. Additionally, it negatively affects your mouth's ability to heal from injuries. Alcoholism can have a similar negative impact on your oral health as smoking does. Alcohol dries out your mouth, causing less saliva to be produced, which stimulates plaque and bacteria growth. Since alcohol contains a lot of sugar and acid, it leads to tooth decay and tooth loss. Also, alcohol drinkers have a higher risk of mouth cancer.
3. Visit your dentist every 6 months
To maintain your dental health, professionals recommend scheduling a teeth cleaning and dental checkup every six months. Your dental hygienist will be able to gently remove plaque and tartar off your teeth during teeth cleaning. Only a dental specialist can remove hardened plaque (tartar). Moreover, if left untreated, tartar buildup can lead to gum disease and tooth decay.
4. Brush your teeth twice a day
Start brushing your teeth twice a day with a toothpaste that contains fluoride. Fluoride is a naturally occurring chemical element that provides oral health with a beneficial effect. In order to help prevent cavities, numerous municipalities have fluoridated their drinking water. To have enough time to thoroughly clean all of your teeth, make sure to brush for 2 minutes. Plaque on back teeth, which are more difficult to clean, may be left behind if you always brush quickly and not thoroughly. When people rush during teeth brushing, it's common for their back teeth to get cavities.
5. Avoid sugary foods and drinks
Do your teeth feel rough and bumpy sometimes? If so, dental plaque may stay on your teeth even after brushing. Sugar is a favorite food of plaque, which uses it to make acid that corrodes your teeth. After consuming food such as candies and chocolate, you may see plaque on your teeth. Since many foods we consider to be "healthy" are bad for your teeth, it's crucial to read the ingredients when shopping. Yogurt flavors, for instance, can differ tremendously in their sugar content. Similar to this, sports drinks usually have higher sugar content than the ordinary person would expect. It will be simpler for you to prevent oral health problems if you limit sugary foods and beverages.