Are you wanting to do better with your dental care? Have you had problems with taking care of your oral hygiene? If so, then you’ll find this guide to be useful. Follow along and you’ll figure out what you can do to be sure that any dental problem you have is taken care of.
Brush your teeth twice a day to prevent tooth decay. When you brush, make sure to massage the gums with your toothbrush and to keep brushing for at least two minutes. Dentists recommend two minutes as a minimum amount of time to brush if you want health teeth and gums.
Use fluoride, but not too much. Fluoride helps keep your teeth strong. It is especially helpful for children and teens. Too much fluoride, however, can damage teeth. If your city has fluoridated water, you may want to avoid fluoridated toothpaste. Ask your dentist to learn how to get the right amount of fluoride.
Receding gum lines is known cause a host of illnesses. Brushing and flossing is important to your gum health. Everyone should floss and brush their teeth in the morning and at bedtime as well as between meals to help prevent gum disease. Use good brushing and flossing techniques to help prevent future illness.
If you run out of toothpaste, baking soda and water can be an effective substitute. Simply mix in some water with a small amount of baking soda and use it just as you would toothpaste. An added benefit to using baking soda is that, along with neutralizing mouth odors, its abrasive nature can help with stain removal.
Invest in one of those small hand-held mirrors like your dentist uses in his office. It can help you to spot plaque and tarter build-up in places not accessible to the naked eye and can assist you when you’ve got something stuck in between teeth. You can also use it to inspect your mouth for anomalies that may indicate underlying health issues.
If your young child is swallowing a lot of toothpaste, consider switching to a toothpaste without fluoride. Fluorideis quite beneficial in keeping teeth healthy, but it can be dangerous if you injest a large amount. A young child does need to brush daily, but sometimes using a non-fluoride toothpaste in the earliest stages of brusing can be beneficial.
Rinse your mouth out after every meal. Brushing your teeth after every meal is ideal. Of course, many people have jobs and places to be. It isn’t always possible to brush your teeth after eating. If you can’t brush, rinse. Rinsing will rid your mouth of some of the food left behind and neutralize pH levels.
Your dentist may refer you to a specialist for a root canal, extraction or other special procedure. If your dentist refers you to a specialist, pay attention to how you feel in the specialist’s office; you may need to ask your dentist for another recommendation if you don’t feel you can get adequate care from the specialist he or she referred you to.
Now that you’ve gone over this guide, it should be easy for you to start practicing good dental care. Just be sure that you reread this guide so that you know what you’re doing. Everyone needs to worry about their dental care, so take care of any dental problems you have before they get worse.
Carl Clay is a health blog author who has been writing about nutrition, fitness and healthy living for over 10 years. He also loves to run, hike and bike with her wife.