5 Tips to Follow to Achieve a Healthier Smile
If you visit the dentist regularly, you may get overwhelmed with some of the information you hear. We repeat ourselves a lot on any given day, always addressing the best ways to brush and floss your teeth. Having great oral health goes much deeper than remembering to brush and floss your teeth every day.
So today, we want to share some of our favorite dental tips.
If you follow these five dental tips, you can increase the likelihood of
maintaining a healthy mouth for the rest of your life.
Here’s our list:
1. Floss should be part of your dental routine.
Again with the floss? Absolutely! If you brush twice a day, that’s great, but
you still need to floss. Consider this fact: About 65 percent of the tooth is
above the surface. That means that about 35 percent of your tooth lies below
the gumline. The best way to clean the root of the tooth is to floss. If you
skip out on flossing, you increase your risk of tooth decay or gum disease. Gum
disease is the number one cause of tooth loss in adults, and it’s a problem
that has been linked to serious medical issues like heart disease and even
diabetes.
2. Change out your toothbrush often.
You can’t change a tire with a warped tire iron, so it stands to reason that
you can’t clean your teeth without a proper toothbrush. This is one area that
my patients often miss the mark. They use the same toothbrush until the
bristles are frayed and warped. If your toothbrush looks like this, consider
swapping it out. The American Dental Association recommends that people change
out their toothbrush once every three to four months. We’ll also give you a
free toothbrush after every dental cleaning.
3. Brush your teeth twice a day for 2 minutes
at a time. This is a tip that a majority of you probably do not
follow, even if you brush twice a day. A recent study found that people spend
less than one minute brushing their teeth every day. That’s not enough time to
clean your mouth. Dentists agree that you can clean your mouth thoroughly with
a 2-minute brushing. To reach this goal, set a timer on your phone or download
a dental app — there are several. While brushing, focus on different quadrants
of the mouth, giving each one equal cleaning time.
4. Have a dental emergency plan.
Your dental treatment isn’t complete without a dental plan in place. That means
having a plan whenever you need immediate assistance or in the event you or a
loved one struggles with dental trauma. With dental injuries or trauma, time is
always ticking, so you have to act quickly. Without a good dental plan, you
waste valuable time searching for an emergency dentist to fulfill your needs.
5. Don’t ignore dry mouth. Dry
mouth is a problem that can increase your risk of cavities or gum disease.
Saliva is so important because it helps reduce the levels of bacteria and flush
food debris from your teeth. In many cases, dry mouth will limit the patient’s
ability to eat certain foods and consume certain drinks. Patients with dry
mouth can even have difficulty sleeping.
These are five dental tips that I believe everyone needs to follow. Start using
these tips in your daily dental routine, and you will see great results. If
you’d like to speak with us about your oral health or need to schedule a
visits, you can reach the St. John dental office at 219-322-9920 or the Valparaiso
office at 219-462-1970.
About Us
Creating Smiles, PC, located in St. John and Valparaiso, Indiana, offers everything you need for a healthy smile and a healthier life. Dr. Kapers and his team can take the anxiety and uncertainty out of dental visits with sedation dentistry, and we're the premier provider of dental implants in the region.