Ever since we were little, we’ve been taught to brush our teeth regularly and avoid too many sweets to avoid cavities. And while some stick to this pretty strictly, others tend to slip into excuses and thinking it’s not that bad. So if you’re someone who’s struggling with dental hygiene, or you just want to brush up on your knowledge, here are things everyone should know about the proper way of caring for your teeth.
Brushing
The first step will always be to brush your teeth thoroughly, twice per day. If you have to pick one, brush them in the evening because you don’t want to go to sleep with food residue on your teeth. Different components in food, like sugar, break down in your mouth and turn to acids that eat away at your teeth, causing damage and rot. Your toothbrush should have medium or fine bristles since hard bristles can damage your gums and cause bleeding. You also want to make sure that the toothpaste you use has fluoride in it since it’s the main component that will clean and protect your teeth. Forget about alternatives like eating an apple instead of brushing teeth – there’s no comparison! You should brush them for a minimum of two minutes, making sure to get all the areas of your mouth, including your tongue and cheeks.
Flossing
This is the step that most people skip. Flossing can seem boring and unnecessary if you’ve already brushed your teeth. But the fact is that there are some areas that your toothbrush just can’t reach and the bits of food that get stuck there, near your gums, will cause heaps of trouble. So pull off a piece of dental floss, wrap it around two fingers and gently work it in between two teeth. When you’re done with one tooth, move the string around your fingers to get to a clean spot and repeat on the next tooth. This might seem like a lot of work to do 60+ times every time you brush your teeth, but in reality, it takes seconds, and you’ll be done in less than 5 minutes.
Keep them white and shiny
White teeth aren’t just pretty – they’re a sign of good health. Most habits we have that are generally unhealthy for our bodies show up on our teeth, like drinking, smoking, unhealthy food, and coffee. You can use different whitening products to bring your pearly whites back to their glory, and that’s a great incentive to start taking care of your teeth, so they stay that white. But overall, you want to quit the bad habits that got your teeth to that stage in the first place. Whitening products are there just for that little extra oomph – not to be a substitute for cleaning your teeth.
Visit the dentist
We all fear the dentist because we associate their office with pain and discomfort. But in reality, the more often we go there, the less it’s going to hurt because tiny issues that are caught in the start will easily be taken care of – but if you let things sit and fester, you’ll have a much bigger issue on your hands down the line. It’s a good rule of thumb to go every four to six months to see if everything is fine. This will both help you take better care of your teeth and relieve some of the stress from going to see a dentist.
In addition, look for the right dental professional to help your children with ADHD feel more comfortable during consultation and procedures.
Don’t help your teeth out too much
We’re used to helping our teeth a lot. From processing foods thermally to cutting, mashing, and puréeing foods, we’re saving our teeth a lot of work. But this is doing more harm than good, as we have our teeth for a reason. This is especially important for kids to grow healthy teeth, but it’s important for adults as well, as we want our jaws to stay strong. These muscles are used for more than just chewing. Losing strength in them can also affect your speech. So just making sure you have a diverse diet with different crunchy textures will do you good.
Whether you think dental hygiene is the main part of a healthy life, or you just do it out of habit, without giving it much thought, you can’t argue that it isn’t a big part of how we present ourselves and how others see us. It’s as important for your physical health as it is for your social health. So make sure to brush and floss daily, visit the dentist regularly, and above all – live an overall healthy life that will make sure you have nothing to fear.
