Everyone wants that dazzling smile that lights up a room, but it’s impossible to do if you don’t have practice dental hygiene regularly. Not taking care of your teeth and gums can lead to a host of problems, from gum disease to cavities and oral cancer to general bad health coming into play.
While some people willingly neglect their dental hygiene, others think they are doing everything they can to protect their gums and teeth when in reality they aren’t. You need to learn the best dental hygiene tips and make sure you’re taking care of your teeth properly.
From keeping those dental appointments to brushing and flossing the way you should, you need to realize that your dental health affects your entire body in the long run. Besides, who doesn’t want to have healthy, strong teeth and a dazzling smile? You can! You just have to work to keep it.
Here are seven great dental hygiene tips for adults and kids:
Tip #1: Brush your teeth properly
One of the easiest dental hygiene tips is to brush your teeth properly. It’s important to try to brush at least twice a day to prevent acid and bacteria from building up on your teeth and gums.
If that’s not possible due to work or other activities, at least rinse your mouth completely to get any loose food out of your teeth after eating. Brushing properly with the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and making sure to get gums and teeth is extremely important to keep that nice smile.
Tip #2: Floss properly
While this dental hygiene tip may seem like a bit of a chore, and many people wonder if it is truly needed, flossing is important for healthy teeth also. It’s also super easy to forget to floss if you’re in hurry or tired before bedtime.
However, flossing helps you reach the food particles that could be deep into your teeth and prevents bacteria from building up and causing cavities that will land you at the dentist after a while. Take that few extra minutes to floss, you’ll be glad you did.
Tip #3: Always avoid tobacco
Do your teeth and your overall health a favor and avoid tobacco products altogether. Tobacco not only stains your teeth and gives you bad breath, it can cause oral cancer as well.
Many smokers try to mask the smell of smoking by sucking on hard candies, this doesn’t really help, and candy is bad for your teeth as well, so you’re doing double the damage if you think about it.
Tip #4: Limit Coffee, alcohol, and sodas
Another easy dental hygiene tip is to limit the amount of coffee, alcohol and sodas that you consume. Too many of these drinks not only stain your teeth, they erode them as well. Drinks that contain corn syrup and food dye can make your teeth look discolored and dull.
While drinking coffee, alcohol and sodas isn’t something most people are willing to avoid completely, limiting yourself on these will go a long way towards helping you have healthy teeth. Try replacing these drinks with water and milk instead.
Tip #5: Always use mouthwash
While it’s not absolutely necessary to use mouthwash to keep your teeth healthy and strong, it is a good idea. Mouthwashes such as Listerine are helpful because they contain agents that help to kill the bacteria in your mouth, which leads to gum disease and cavities.
While mouthwash can’t do all of the work for you, if you’re already brushing, flossing, and doing everything else above, then it can be a little added protection for your teeth and who couldn’t use that?
Tip #6: Keep your dental appointments
We can’t stress enough the importance of keeping your dental appointments. Many people get too busy and many are actually afraid of the dentist, so they keep putting off appointments until they are in pain from a bad tooth and have no choice but to go.
The pain can be avoided if you visit your dentist for regular dental checkups every six months. Not only can your dentist keep a watch out for cavities and gum disease, the professional can also catch oral cancer early, inspect a variety of dental problems, and recommend dental implant treatments if necessary.
Keeping those dental appointments is your first line of defense against tooth decay, and it’s one of the most important dental hygiene tips that need to be emphasized.
Tip #7: Make dental hygiene a regular priority
While everyone knows that good dental hygiene is important for healthy, strong, white teeth, many don’t realize that bad teeth can lead to other overall health problems as well.
Bad teeth have been linked to everything from diabetes to heart disease and from systemic infections to other sicknesses that can actually be life-threatening. When it comes to oral hygiene, it’s not just your gums and teeth that are at risk, it’s your overall health as well.
