On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself concerning oral care—your teeth, in particular? Hopefully, you wouldn’t give yourself a rating of 6 or lower!
But if such is the case, it’s not too late to start taking better care of your teeth. Today, we’re featuring a couple of teeth care tips you can follow.
Try your best to do them, especially the first one!
Brush your teeth regularly
How often? According to the American Dental Association (ADA), “the consensus recommendation is for people to brush their teeth for two minutes twice a day with a toothbrush that has soft bristles.”
They also recommend changing toothbrushes every three or four months. It is also important to store it properly to minimise microbial growth.
After brushing, you should place your toothbrush in an upright position and let it air dry.
Don’t forget to floss
Flossing can definitely level up your teeth cleaning game. It serves to clean those areas of your teeth that your toothbrush alone is hard-pressed to reach, like those tiny spaces between your teeth.
So, how often should a person floss? ADA recommends flossing once a day. Meanwhile, if you have braces on, we suggest using an interdental brush.
Know what foods to eat or avoid
As with any part of our body, diet plays a huge role in maintaining teeth health.
According to the University of Illinois Chicago, for healthier teeth, eat foods that are rich in calcium. Of course, this includes dairy products like cheese, milk, and yoghurt.
You can also derive calcium from non-dairy foods such as salmon, almonds, and dark, green, leafy vegetables.
Other foods to look out for include crunchy vegetables like celery and carrots, apples, pears, nuts, and so on.
In terms of what’s bad for your teeth, avoid eating too many foods that are high in sugar, such as candies, cookies, cakes, etc.
You should also be careful of eating foods that are acidic because acid can damage the teeth’s enamel. As reported by Dental Choice, these include citrus fruits, drinks such as wine and soft drinks, apple cider vinegar, and pasta sauce.
Lessen or quit smoking and drinking alcohol
If you’re looking for more reasons to lessen if not completely quit smoking, here’s one: it’s bad for both your teeth’s look and health.
Sarah Palmer D.D.S. explains that the negative effects of smoking on one’s teeth include “tooth discoloration, plaque/tartar build-up, gum disease, tooth loss, and oral cancer.”
Likewise, she also mentions that those who regularly drink alcohol have a higher chance of getting oral cancer compared to those that don’t.
Moreover, other consequences of alcohol intake are reduced saliva production and tooth decay due to alcohol’s acidity and sugar content.
Visit your dentist as needed
We say “as needed” because people have different dental needs, which means you may need to see your dentist more than once or twice each year.
While you may have heard that you should visit your dentist every six months, Colgate says this rule isn’t a once size, fits all recommendation.
While seeing your dentist twice a year is a good rule of thumb, how often you should really go depends on your “oral hygiene, habits, and individual medical condition.”
The best thing to do is to just go and ask your dentist when you should come back for an appointment!
And that’s a wrap for our list of tips on teeth care! Of course, aside from dentists, we need other kinds of health practitioners for the different parts of our bodies.
If you need a doctor or clinic, these articles may be of help!