6 Oral Health Care Tips You Should Practice
6 Oral Health Care Tips You Should Practice
Oral health care is about more than just having pearly white teeth and getting compliments every time you smile. Keeping your teeth clean has great implications for your overall health because as we get older, we become more susceptible to developing complications with our teeth. If we aren’t on top of our oral hygiene while we’re younger, it will only get worse.
Keeping your teeth and mouth clean is incredibly important. First, it helps keep tooth decay and cavities away and also protects you from gingivitis and other gum diseases. If you’ve ever spoken to someone with bad breath, you know how uncomfortable and repulsive it can get. Cleaning your teeth regularly keeps your mouth smelling fresh and gets rid of bacteria that may accumulate.
Here are a few oral health care tips that will help you keep your mouth clean and achieve healthy, white teeth.
1. Brush Your Teeth Before Going to Bed
Brushing teeth before bed helps get rid of dirt and plaque that may have accumulated during the day. Leaving this food lodged on and between the teeth leads to tooth decay due to:
Your mouth has present bacteria that begin to feed on these food particles
As the bacteria breaks this food down, an acid is produced as a by-product of this decomposition
This acid eats away the enamel of your teeth, causing tooth decay and cavities
As these holes are bored between your teeth, more food particles keep getting stuck, and this only serves to aggravate the situation. Cavities may eventually reach the nerve endings, increasing tooth sensitivity and causing toothaches. Cleaning your teeth every night is the best method of oral health care as it prevents things from reaching such extreme levels.
2. Brush Your Teeth Properly
Brushing your teeth only counts if you’re doing it right, and not just simply going through the motions. Food gets stuck in between the teeth as you eat. If you don’t use the right technique to brush them, these particles will remain lodged in your teeth, causing decay and plaque.
Take your time while brushing your teeth. Move the toothbrush gently in repetitive circular motions to get all the plaque off your teeth. When left to its own devices, plaque accumulates and hardens- this may lead to gingivitis, one of many gum diseases that are likely to come calling.
3. Don’t Forget Your Tongue!
Without the tongue, we wouldn’t be able to sing along to our favorite song, taste anything, argue about sports or even chew and swallow efficiently. It is such an essential part of our lives but we tend to take it for granted.
What we fail to remember is that plaque also builds on our tongues.
We have small bumps on the surface of our tongues called papillae
The grooves of these bumps may collect bacteria, food particles, and dead skin cells
This layer of dirt is then covered with a thin film of mucus
The debris that’s trapped under this layer of mucus can cause bad odor and may give your tongue a white discoloration
4. Know How to Clean Your Tongue
Cleaning your tongue is important to your oral health care. You should clean it as regularly as your brush and floss. Without using too much toothpaste, gently run your brush across the surface of your tongue and rinse it.
If you don’t want to use your toothbrush, you could buy a tongue scraper quite inexpensively at a drugstore. These devices are designed to slide over your tongue, disposing of the mucus layer, debris, and bacteria that tend to get trapped under it.
When using a scraper;
Place it at the back of your tongue
Apply even pressure and slide the scraper down along the surface of the tongue towards its tip
Rinse the scraper and keep going until your tongue is clean
Scraping your tongue doesn’t take more than a few minutes. You should do it every time you brush and floss. However, you should remember that the skin of your tongue is quite delicate and may get inflamed and irritated when cleaned vigorously.
5. Using the Correct Toothbrush and Toothpaste
Brushing your teeth is incredibly important in oral health care. However, it’s important for you to be using the right gear for this.
There are different types of toothbrushes, generally categorized by how hard their bristles are. You may find it hard to remove pieces of food that’s stuck between your teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush. At the same time, you may irritate your gums if you use a toothbrush whose bristles are too hard. It’s important to find the balance.
Similarly, when picking out a brand of toothpaste, there’s much more to it than flavors and whitening power and color. Whichever type you eventually choose, it’s crucial that you ensure it has fluoride in it. Fluoride is an essential part of the fight against tooth decay
that works by fighting germs and bacteria that may cause tooth decay and dental cavities. It also gives your teeth a protective barrier
It may be a good idea to ask your dental care specialist or cosmetic dentist to recommend the right toothbrush and toothpaste.
6. Visit a Dentist Regularly
According to statistics, approximately 127.6 million adults in the US visited a dentist in 2017, and find doing so important in their oral health care. When you visit your dentist, they can check your teeth for cavities, decay and gum complications. They may even have X-rays done to check for any cavities between your teeth.
Your dentist will also check for plaque and tartar and clean your teeth. They will perform scaling in order to remove plaque and any tartar that may have built up on your teeth over time. It may be important to mention that tartar cannot be removed by flossing and brushing.
After this is done, the dentist will use a gritty paste to polish your teeth. This paste removes stains from the surface of your teeth and gives you a brighter smile. They will then floss your teeth to ensure no dirt is still stuck beneath your teeth. Visiting a dentist regularly is important if you intend on keeping your mouth and teeth healthy and clean.
7. Do You Need to See a Cosmetic Dentist?
Getting your teeth aligned has to do with more than just searching for a beautiful smile. Crowded, misaligned teeth are incredibly difficult to clean. Due to how tightly packed such teeth are, it’s almost impossible to pass the bristles of your brush in between them or floss your teeth.
When you have teeth that are intrinsically difficult to clean, you become more susceptible to suffering from teeth and gum complications. Visiting a cosmetic dentist is the best shot you have your teeth straightened. There are many cosmetic dental treatment options in the market, and you’ll easily find a solution that matches the severity of your situation. Braces and Invisalign are some of the most common options.
a. Braces
Wearing braces is one of the most common cosmetic dental procedures. There are many different types of braces, specially designed to correct the alignment of your teeth. Metal braces are the most popular of these because of how hardy and effective they are.
Clear braces are also slowly gaining more and more approval and can be seen installed on the teeth of many teens and young adults. Their brackets are usually made from tooth-colored ceramic material, making them less conspicuous than the average metal braces. One disadvantage of wearing metal braces is that you may be prone to getting scrapes and cuts on the insides of your cheeks.
b. Invisalign
These are comfortable and effective and take about a year to get the job done. They have a satisfaction rate of up to 96% and straighten teeth by correcting overbite and under-bite, crowding and spacing. Since Invisalign is made from clear, plastic aligners, you don’t need to worry about injuring yourself anymore.
Either of these procedures is perfect for aligning your teeth. If you have crooked, misaligned teeth, visiting an orthodontist will help you correct this problem. Your teeth will then become easier to clean, making oral health care easier for you to accomplish and practice.
Oral health is part of your body's health system. By following these tips and techniques, you’ll be taking a huge step towards keeping your mouth cavity-free.