Routine Preventive Dental Care
By visiting the dentist twice a year you can help to prevent the development of serious oral health conditions that can negatively affect your oral health.
While daily brushing and flowing are crucial to your oral health. Everyone is in need of professional dental cleanings to help get the plaque we missed in those hard-to-reach areas. This is true no matter how careful and thorough you are when brushing and flossing!
Your dentist is well-equipped with the tools needed to help remove any debris or buildup in a gentle way.
Your dentist can also identify and treat developing oral health problems in their early stages before they become serious. Oral diseases like cavities, gum disease and even abnormalities like cysts and tumours are often not obvious to the untrained eye, so it’s important to get checked by a professional regularly.
Your dentist can spot and treat small concerns before they become more complicated and serious conditions requiring more invasive treatment such as root canal therapy.
Twice Daily Teeth Brushing
Brushing your teeth is the most essential element of a great oral hygiene routine. It is recommended that you brush your teeth for two minutes, twice daily to help remove any debris that has settled into the crevices around your teeth. If you can manage it, an extra session after lunch is beneficial.
To make sure each tooth gets the attention it needs, divide your mouth into four sections, and spend 30 seconds on each: upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right. Be sure to brush the front, back, and chewing surfaces of each tooth.
Flossing Before Bed Every Night
flossing your teeth should happen once a day preferably before bed so you can reach any debris and remove it before it sits in your mouth all night. Flossing removes food debris that can get caught between your teeth in spots that your toothbrush can’t reach. Flossing is essential for preventing tooth decay and gum disease, and will also help keep your breath fresh.
The one thing to remember is to slow down and take your time when you are flossing. Insert the floss between two of your teeth, and run it carefully up and down the sides of each tooth, pulling it into a ‘c’ shape each way. Work your way methodically along your top jaw, and then your bottom jaw, until you have flossed between all your teeth.
Following a Nutritious Diet
Eating a healthy diet that’s rich in calcium is also an important part of your oral hygiene routine, as it will help keep your teeth and gums strong and healthy from the inside out.
Try to keep your intake of starches and sugars to a minimum and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Staying Well Hydrated
By drinking plenty of water you help ensure that your body produces enough saliva. This is essential because saliva washes away food residue and debris that would otherwise collect on your teeth, allowing bacteria to thrive. This means that just by drinking water you can help prevent cavities.
Supplementary Hygiene
If you are already brushing and flossing regularly, but want to give your routine a boost, you can try adding some supplementary hygiene aids.
Hygiene aids include things like mouthwash, interdental cleaners, oral irrigators, and tongue cleaners, to name a few.
While these tools cannot replace a thorough brushing and flossing routine, they do make a good addition to it, to help keep your breath fresh and minimize plaque buildup.