How to maintain healthy teeth

Every part of our body is important. Taking good care of it even more important. One of these is our teeth and gums. Not only do we use them for chewing our food but also dazzle anyone in the vicinity by flashing a big lively white smile.

But as it turns out, a visit to the dentist with his whining equipments is one of our least favourite hobby. So, we need to take good and regular care of our teeth to avoid that until absolutely necessary.How do we do that ?

Let's take a peep at these tips to maintain our teeth and gums :-

1. Brush Regularly – 

• The first and foremost thing a person should do is to Brush their teeth regularly. A normal count of 3 times per day would be good. i.e. Morning, After Meals and after dinner or before going to bed. 

• Use a dry bristle brush for the first two minutes of cleaning. It's not the toothpaste that "cleans" your teeth, it's the mechanical action of the bristles in physical contact with the tooth surface that removes plaque (a living bio-film teeming with microorganisms that cause disease). You can do a magnificent job brushing your teeth using a dry brush and rinsing with water (although your teeth will not have the benefit of fluoride).

• Spend time moving the bristles at and below the gum line, where it is most important to clean. The toothpaste can go on after those two minutes, and you can have the advantage of fluoride, whitening, stain removal or whatever works better for you because it's applied to a nice clean surface.

2. Floss Regularly – 

• This is also a nice and effective way of getting rid of any food particles from the surface of the teeth and the gaps between the teeth. 

• Use a tongue scraper. A tongue scraper is an important part of oral hygiene that will also work wonders with stale, smelly breath. Use it to remove the plaque on your tongue, which will freshen breath and presumably slow down the accumulation of plaque on your teeth. 

• Alternatively, you can use your toothbrush to clean your tongue.They clean all the grooves of the teeth and prevent tooth decay. Any type of floss can be used for flossing. 

3. Use Fluoride Rinse method – 

There is a rinse available which helps in preventing decay of the tooth and also helps in Strengthening the outer enamel of the teeth. The hypersensitivity of the dentin layers also gets decreased due to rinse. Stannous fluoride dental rinse are available for this purpose.
Here is a technique for using a rinse – 

Brush and floss the teeth thoroughly before using the dental rinse. 

• Measure 1/8 ounce into the mixing vial provided with the rinse; add water to the 1 fl. oz. mark and mix; use half of the measured dental rinse in the mouth and vigorously swish around and between the teeth for one minute, then spit out. 

• This process has to be done once or twice a day. The dental rinse should not be swallowed, and 30 minutes before or after using rinse, no food should be taken in. If not taken in recommended amounts, a few side effects could occur.

4. Try to avoid Soda :

• As the Cola drinks contain acids like Citric acid, and phosphoric acid. They slowly react with the teeth and dissolve them. These drinks have corrosive effect on the teeth.

• You can have these soft drinks, which are originally hard, but just don’t become addicted to those kind of drinks.

about Milk, Water and Juices – 

• These would be the best substitues for the Soft drinks. Milk also helps in promoting stronger jaw bones, and also strengthens teeth. Water is pure as always and does not contain Micro Organisms.

•  Sometimes a few dentists say that Juice is as harmful as Cola, as it also contains organic acids.

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5. Avoid chewing tobacco and smoking –

• This is one of the Major cause for tooth and complete oral tissue damage. 

• The tobacco powder and its smoke causes stains on teeth and they weaken the teeth. chewing of tobacco can lead to discoloration of teeth and sometimes this tobacco is also responsible for the dangerous Oral Cancer.So, avoiding tobacco related products is the best.

6. Chewable gums –

•  These are of 2 kinds, 

1. One which are specifically made to chew after meals and these help in cleaning of the teeth. 

     2.  And the other gums, are the sweet ones which increases sugar content and attract micro-organisms onto the teeth and they cause decay of the teeth. It would be better to decrease these kind of sweet gums.

7. Avoid Alcohol – 

• There are several things that can occur when Alcohol is consumed, most are effects on the oral organs like Irritation of the gum, tongue and oral tissues; Poor healing after dental surgery; Increase in tooth decay; Increases risk toward periodontal (gum) disease.

• Heavy drinkers have the risk of developing Cancer in mouth, and some other organs in the body.

8. Healthy Diet Consumption –

• Having proper and healthy food not only helps in maintaining fitness and getting a perfect body, but also helps in maintaining your oral structures very well.

• It helps in having mouth well-lubricated and taking extra care of your teeth and gums. You should always have water after intake of food, so temporary cleaning of teeth can be done.

9.Visit your dentist at least every six months and every time that you have a problem with your teeth-

• Schedule a professional cleaning with a registered dental hygienist.

• Visit the dentist twice a year and Be an "informed health care consumer" and pay attention to what is going on. 

• Ask your dental hygienist what your probings are at each visit! (They should be between 1 mm and 3 mm deep.)

10. Most important:-

• In addition to checking for signs of cavities or gum disease, the dentist and dental hygienist can give you feedback about how effective your plaque removal at home is, and more importantly help you learn the best way to brush and floss.

• You need to know how to prevent problems by having your skills evaluated. If you are not effective with flossing and brushing technique, you are only wasting your time while leaving the door open for infection and disease. 

• How many times a day you brush & floss, or how long you spend brushing are all SECONDARY to your degree of skill using them. It all boils down to whether or not you can effectively reach and remove the adherent biofilm surrounding every one of your teeth, at and below the gumline. 

• Ask your dental hygienist to watch your technique and work with you!

Posted in: teeth care