Like many people, your current dental regimen focuses only on brushing your teeth and flossing occasionally. Actually, taking care of your mouth doesn’t always start with your teeth. Lifestyle habits, health conditions, and even heredity can all influence oral health. As you will soon see, there are countless simple things you can do to care for your mouth, teeth, and gums.
If you have questions for your dentist, write them down and bring them to your appointment. Once your cleaning and exam begin, it is hard to get a word in edgewise, especially with picks, pokers and mirrors in your mouth! Speak up beforehand, and a dental hygienist can answer your questions before your mouth is too full, or too sore to ask afterwards.
There are many great toothpastes out there specially formulated for sensitive teeth. One common sign of sensitive teeth is feeling pain or discomfort upon eating food that is unusually hot or cold. However, it is wise to visit your dentist if you suddenly develop sensitive teeth.
Do you secretly long to have your tongue pierced? You might want to rethink that! No matter how clean you keep your mouth, it is an excellent place for germs to breed. Any type of oral piercing can slowly deteriorate your teeth’s enamel, which can cause infection. In the most severe case, you could lose a section of the tongue, something you definitely do not want.
Take a toothbrush with you wherever you go. That way, if you eat at a restaurant, you can take a few minutes to brush your teeth afterwards. This will help you to remove food and bacteria from your teeth much more quickly than waiting until bedtime to take care of your teeth.
If you want to have healthy teeth, don’t smoke. Smoking doesn’t just discolor your teeth, it can also make a lot of tartar and plaque build up. Cigarettes contribute to your risk of both oral cancer and gum disease. Quitting smoking will help you better keep your gums and teeth healthy.
Talk to your dentist immediately about any changes you notice in your mouth. Be it sudden increased sensitivity to cold, a dull ache or an odd spot that won’t go away on its own, your dentist knows the difference between a simple issue with teeth and major underlying health issues. Call right away to report any such problems.
If you are having a cosmetic procedure done, make sure you do your research when it comes to the dentist you want to work with. Always ask to see “before and after” pictures of previous patients. It is important that you have a chance to examine your prospective dentist’s skill level before allowing him or her to work on you.
When you brush your teeth can be just as important as how often you brush your teeth. Although most dentists recommend brushing twice a day, it is important to make one of those brushings before you go to sleep at night. The production of saliva is much slower during sleep, and less saliva can allow damaging bacteria to grow.
You should always floss before brushing. It is important to keep the area between your teeth clean. If it isn’t easy for you to manipulate the floss, look for a tool of some sort that can assist you. This allows you to get rid of floss that is no longer useful.
Avoid brushing your teeth vigorously or too often. It might seem to be smart dental care, but you might actually cause problems that can get serious. Brushing about two to three times each day is good enough for your teeth.
Rinse your mouth out with a mixture of peroxide and water before you brush your teeth. Use half peroxide and half water to rinse your mouth out. This will help get rid of germs in your mouth. Your mouth will be more clean and your breath will be fresher.
It is essential that you take your dental care very seriously. Your teeth should always be brushed twice daily. This gets rid of any debris building up on the teeth after eating. It also gets rid of teeth-damaging bacteria.
Hard foods like lollipops, ice, popcorn kernels and hard candies can harm your teeth. Also, foods like this can damage partials, and other types of dental work. The kernels from popcorn can irritate and inflame your gums.
Teach your child to brush by modeling proper brushing yourself. Every night, stand in front of the mirror together and have him imitate the way you brush. By his observing you, your child will learn the proper brushing techniques. The same method can be applied to flossing as you model for him how to floss properly.
Ask your dentist is a layer of fluoride would be a good option for you. Fluoride can improve the health of your teeth, but for some people it can be detrimental. Your dentist is the best person to make this decision for you, but if they have not brought it up you should.
Never put your baby to bed with a bottle with fruit juice or milk. Doing so can cause tooth decay. If you must put your baby to bed with a bottle, fill it with plain water. In addition to protecting your baby’s teeth, giving your baby a bottle of water at bedtime will help wean them off of the bottle.
Avoid using other people’s toothbrushes. You may not think it’s a big deal, but most people find that inappropriate. What’s more, if you use someone else’s toothbrush you are introducing new baceria to your mouth. That is generally something you should avoid. Therefore, make sure you only use your own toothbrush.
A combination of regular dental visits and simple hygiene habits goes a long way in promoting good oral health. Do it for yourself, or do it for your dentist. Either way, you can be certain that your efforts will pay off in more ways than one. Now that’s something to smile about!
