5 top tips for ensuring your Oral Health
It really is so important to look after your teeth! As they say, “you are what you eat”, which means whatever passes through our mouths will have an impact on your overall health in general. For this reason, it’s vital that you embrace your oral health and ensure that you look after your pearly whites!
Here we have 5 tips on making sure that you are caring for your dental hygiene and oral health the best you can!
SMOKING
If you dream of that sparkly Hollywood smile, you need to stop smoking immediately. Any dental hygienist will tell you how negatively smoking can affect your teeth, so it’s certainly a bad habit you need to get rid of! Not only is smoking bad for your health anyway, it can also be the cause of of tooth loss, tooth staining, gum disease and in more severe cases mouth cancer.
SUGAR
As mentioned above, you are what you eat. Sugar in excess can be very damaging to your teeth, so you should avoid snacking on overly sugary snacks and try to only have sugary foods and drinks at mealtimes, reducing the time your teeth come under attack! One thing that Dentists will learn while they are in training and on Dentistry Work Placements is to advise their patients about the damaging effects of sugar on their teeth.
BRUSHING
This is the number one rule for maintaining good oral health. Despite the fact we are taught to brush our teeth when we are small children, nearly a quarter of adults in the UK have admitted to not actually brushing their teeth twice daily?! You need to make sure you brush your teeth correctly, covering each tooth and the whole surface area of your mouth – twice a day for at least 2 minutes.
FLOSSING
Flossing should be a fundamental part of your oral health regime. Did you know that flossing does about 40% of the work required to remove the nasty plaque from your teeth? The problem with plaque is that it generates acid, which can cause cavities, irritate the gums, and lead to gum disease!
VISIT YOUR DENTIST
Even if you’re a non-smoker who doesn’t eat too much sugar and vehemently brushes their teeth twice a day – you still need visit your dentist twice a year. Visiting a private dentist regularly means that any problems that you may have with your oral health can be swiftly dealt with!