Our teeth our incredibly important, not only just for the more practical reasons, like eating, but also for our happiness and confidence as well. Having bad teeth, gums or bad breath can really impact how we feel. We all think we know the basics of looking after our teeth, but are we really doing all we can to make sure our teeth and gums are in the best possible shape? We’ve put together a list of five things that we consider to be the most important when it comes to looking after your pearly whites.
- Floss regularly – A lot of us really underestimate the value of flossing. It’s unlikely that brushing alone will remove all of the plaque hiding in your teeth and gums, particularly between teeth. Flossing helps to eliminate food and plaque from between your teeth, and is a great way of making sure your teeth stay healthy.
- Brush twice a day – This sounds like an easy one but it’s surprising how many of us forego this simple rule. A lot of us are guilty of just brushing in the morning, and forget to do it at night. We eat a lot during the day and so it is really important that we brush that all away at night. Forgetting to brush before going to sleep means that food and plaque sits on your teeth for hours on end, which isn’t nice.
- Use mouthwash – Whilst brushing and flossing is great to help eliminate food and plaque, mouthwash can also help protect teeth against acids produced by plaque bacteria too. So this is an added protection.
- Brush your tongue – Just brushing your teeth and gums will not eliminate all of the plaque in your mouth. Brushing your tongue is a great way of banishing plaque in those harder to reach areas. Most of us have a build-up on our tongues that we can’t get rid of by saliva alone. This build up can often lead to bad breath and so it is important to regularly brush our tongues to avoid any chance of this happening.
- Cut out sugar and additives. A good diet is essential to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. It’s not something we directly think about in regards to our teeth. But with sugar being the leading cause of cavities, the best thing to do is reduce sugary foods – heck, even cut them out completely! And avoid additives in food.
A lot of us forget to go to the dentist regularly or put off going because we do not enjoy it. But having regular check up’s is a must. It is a bad idea to wait until we have a problem with our teeth to go to the dentist, as by the time a problem becomes apparent, it is usually a problem which requires a lot of work. We can prevent problems from occurring by regular trips to the dentist. Dentists these days are trained on how to care for their patients in a calming and friendly manner, and so don’t be put off by horror stories about trips to the dentist. This is a thing of the past.
This article was provided by the friendly dentists at Chatswood Dental Care a dental clinic in Chatswood, NSW.
Find out more about Chatswood Dental Care on their doctors.com.au profile Chatswood Dental Care.
Author Bio:
Louise Procter is a writer for http://www.chatswooddentalcare.com.au Living by the beach, on the sunny South Coast of NSW she enjoys sipping a good strong coffee whilst creating articles that provide information and inspiration to readers to help them in their everyday lives.