How to Care for Your Teeth

Want to make sure that your teeth are taken care of? It's really important to have good oral health habits because a dental problem may have more negative consequences than you can ever imagine!

Chemical corrosion is invisible enemy that erodes tooth surface day and night. If you really don't take care of your oral cavity, it won't be long before cavities and unhealthy gums make your mouth very, very sore. Eating meals will be difficult. You won't feel like smiling much either. This article will help you out!

 1. Choose Your Foods Wisely

Rinse after sugary foods. Food remnants feeds the bacteria in your mouth, which then excrete acidic substances that corrode tooth enamel, resulting in bad breath and painful jaw diseases. Sugar is especially fatal, even in low concentrations found in fruits, because it is sugar exposure time, which harms, not the amount of sugar you consume. You can ignore anything but sugar since bacteria have difficulty to digest other materials. Their amount basically explodes within one minute after a sip of sweet tea, which scatters the optimal concentrations of sugar over the whole oral cavity, infiltrating sugar molecules into every cling. Check yourself: the sweet tea tastes acid within one minute. This means that you have absolutely no time to wait for evening brush-time and must clean up the entire oral cavity immediately. Since drinking means delight that lasts longer than couple of seconds and you do not want your teeth to stay sweet that long before de-sugar zing them, you must stop drinking sweet drinks. Sugar-lovers should take sweets separately from the sugar-free tea so that tea is used to wash down the sugar molecules immediately, during their intake. This technique increases pleasure while reduces sugar-exposure time to virtually zero and eliminates the boring need to rinse later. It can further be enhanced by drinking sugar through the straw. Same applies to acidic drinks, e.g. juices, because acid is the product of the bacteria, the very substance that rusts your teeth and is as bad as the sugar itself.

Avoid snacking constantly. Snacking constantly can cause plaque to build up on your teeth, which can increase the risk of getting cavities.

Chewing less. Hard seeds produce fissures in your molars. Chewing sticky gums and toffee also overstresses your teeth mechanically and pulls the sealants.

 2. Brushing Your Teeth

Brush your teeth thoroughly at least twice a day, for two minutes each time. Make sure you brush on all sides of your teeth and get your tongue. You can ask your dentist(s) for a demonstration. It is best to do one of these times before you go to bed, as your mouth does not have the same salivary protection when you are sleeping as it does during the day. If you can, brush after lunch as well without toothpaste. Using lots of toothpaste may also discolor your teeth due to the fluoride content. Brushing during the day will reduce the damage caused by plaque byproducts and toxins.

Each tooth has five distinct sides; a toothbrush cleans only 3 of those 5 sides. The other two sides are where much of the destruction and disease (not to mention foul odors) originate: the in between areas. These remaining two sides require dental floss or tiny inter-dental brushes that can reach in-between and under the contact points of the teeth. Gum disease is linked to life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and premature low birth weight babies.

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). Also use a soft or ultra soft bristle brush. Hold it at the edge so that you do not apply a lot of pressure invariably.

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. Move from the gums to the tooth surface while brushing.

 3. Floss Your Teeth

Floss your teeth daily and after any food that will stick in your teeth (i.e. corn on the cob, caramel, peanut butter, etc.). This cleans the other sides of your teeth that you couldn't reach with your toothbrush. Flossing is always done at night before brushing. Floss well and follow it by brushing.

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.

 4. Use Mouth Wash

Find a fluoride mouthwash. Fluoride mouthwashes help to strengthen tooth enamel. Teach children between the age of six and twelve good rinsing skills to prevent swallowing. Follow the directions on the bottle. Right before you got to bed is a good time.

 5. Visit the dentist

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. Be an "informed health care consumer" and pay attention to what is going on. Ask your dental hygienist what your probing are at each visit! (They should be between 1 mm and 3 mm deep.)

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 gum line. Ask your dental hygienist to watch your technique and work with you! That's what we're there for!

Tips

• Replace your toothbrush every three months.

• After having an especially sugary drink, washing your mouth out with water or milk will help get rid of harmful acids?

• Understand that when you brush, you don't need a lot of toothpaste; just squeeze out a bit the size of a pea.

• Drink acidic beverages (such as juice and soda) with a straw. The liquid will not contact your teeth, and therefore, not decay the enamel.

• When brushing the back sides of your front teeth, hold the toothbrush upright (vertical) and move it up and down along each individual tooth - both lower and upper arches. Repeat several times for each tooth.

• When you use mouthwash, use as directed on the bottle, read all instructions BEFORE using the product.

• Don't forget to brush the back of your tongue and the upper palate of your mouth.

• Try and drink milk, as it is high in calcium. Calcium helps bones and teeth to grow stronger.

• Use mouth wash after brushing.

• Floss your teeth before brushing. This is so that plaque from the outside and inside surfaces of the teeth gets dislodged too be killed when you brush.

 Warnings

• Avoid using toothpicks. They lead to gum disease.

• Avoid biting objects/nails. It might cause tiny fissures and/or cracks in your teeth.

• Never brush your teeth right after a big meal. Wait about a half an hour and then go. Otherwise, you could damage your enamel

• Don't cut strands with your teeth because it will conduct eventually to extreme sensitivity.

• Less is more. Don't floss, brush teeth, or scrape tongue too roughly. Over-brushing or rough flossing can cause gums to recede.

• Don't use a brush with firm bristles, as this will scratch away at the protective layer that coats your teeth.

• Don't chew gum constantly. It will lead to auricular problems and tooth cavities.

• Some toothpaste is not recommended to be used daily if they are too strong–check the label of your toothpaste for details.

• Don't wear mouth piercings. It produces micro-fractures in your teeth that might break your dental pieces.

• Don't take drugs not prescribed by a dentist. Some drugs work causing friction with your gums which conducts to gum irritation and inflammation.

• Don't swallow mouthwash or toothpaste. After brushing, spit out the toothpaste and rinse your mouth thoroughly with water.