5 Easy Oral Health Practices to Make Most Issues Disappear

Developing good oral health practices are vital for short and long-term dental health. You can avoid the most common severe problems by teaching yourself and your kids.

Regular Trips to the Dentist

First and foremost, you need to find a dentist and keep up with appointments. This is vital for several reasons. First, your dentist can see a problem before it develops into something worse. And therefore provide preventative treatment. But also, if you fail to keep appointments, your dentist might remove you from their register. And it can be tricky to find a new one. So if a problem develops while you are between dentists, you could end up with a severe dental issue. You might need treatment for swollen gums near wisdom teeth, for example.

Brushing Twice a Day (and no more)

All dentists recommend that you brush your teeth twice per day. Once in the morning and once in the evening before bed. You might think that brushing more than this is helpful. However, any more than this can erode the gum tissue and enamel. Neither of these can be replaced once they are gone. You should also try not to brush too hard. Gentle brushing for 2.5 minutes is usually adequate. If you aren’t sure, you can use a timer. Or purchase an Oral B electric toothbrush that alerts you to pressure and indicates when to change areas every 30 seconds.

Children brushing teeth – Image Courtesy of Pixabay

Good Oral Health Practices Includes Mouthwash

Brushing alone only reaches around 60% of your entire mouth and usually only covers your teeth and connected gums. Therefore, more help is required. Mouthwash is an excellent accompaniment to regular brushing. Good quality mouthwash, like Listerine, will ensure that most of the bacteria around your teeth, gums and tongue are cleared away. Leaving you with as clean a mouth as possible. This is especially important before bed. Throughout the night, you won’t be eating or drinking water. So bacterial build-up is possible during your sleeping hours. 

Chewing Gum After Eating

If you can, rinsing your mouth with mouthwash after eating can help remove excess food and bacteria that could cause bad breath later on. But it’s probably because you don’t carry mouthwash with you. Chewing gum is an excellent replacement because you can fit gum in your pocket, and it’s cheap. Chewing gum after eating for around 20 minutes promotes saliva production. The saliva acts as an antibacterial liquid and will wash away some bacteria that can cause infections. Additionally, it will leave your breath minty fresh throughout the working day.

Avoiding Strong Food and Drink

We all love good food. But more often than not, the food and drink we love are harmful. Perhaps you like nothing more than spending a Saturday evening eating blue cheese and drinking your favourite wine. Great food and magical moments. However, both of these are hazardous to the health of your mouth. The blue veins in cheese are actually the bacteria that give it a great smell and flavour. And this bacteria will exacerbate any infections and cause pain. Also, wine is highly acidic and will erode tooth enamel and dry out your mouth. Enjoy these in moderation.

Summary

It can be challenging to develop good oral health practices later in life. But you can start by seeing a dentist regularly, brushing twice daily and avoiding harmful food and drinks.