Your smile is the first thing people notice about you. It gives you confidence and boosts your self-esteem. The health of your teeth is also good for your overall health. Thus, it is necessary to maintain good oral hygiene, as it keeps your smile beautiful and healthy and protects your entire body from infections. This is possible when you understand the basics of dental care, since they enable you to care for your teeth better.
Dental care basics go beyond caring for your teeth; you must care for your entire mouth, including your cheeks, tongue, gums, and jawbone. It also goes beyond brushing and flossing your teeth daily. You must regularly visit your dentist for routine checkups and examinations. Oral hygiene habits must also begin in childhood and continue into old age. If you are struggling with dental or oral issues, a skilled dentist can help you understand what you need to do to enjoy excellent oral and general health.
Here are some dental care basics to keep in mind:
Reasons Dental Care is Vital
Your teeth play vital roles in your body. In addition to giving you a beautiful smile, your teeth help you chew and bite food. They also make it easy for you to speak. People with dental problems face challenges performing these tasks. For example, you will experience difficulties pronouncing certain words if you have one or more missing teeth. If your back teeth have cavities, you cannot chew your food effectively, resulting in digestion issues. Thus, taking care of your teeth ensures you enjoy beautiful and functional teeth at all times.
Dental care is vital for you and everyone in your family. Children should be guided to care for their teeth from an early age. Remember that caring for your teeth goes beyond brushing and flossing daily. You must watch what you and your family eat. You must also take precautions to avoid accidents that could damage your teeth. For example, you can wear a mouthguard when playing contact sports or a helmet when riding bikes.
Your oral health affects your general well-being. If your teeth or gums are unhealthy, your entire body will feel unwell. Infections in the mouth can quickly spread to the rest of your body, affecting your general health. Thus, dental care is crucial in enjoying good health.
Taking care of your oral health also makes detecting a dental or oral problem at the onset easy. It is a preventive measure that helps you avoid dangerous oral and dental issues like cavities and gum disease. You can seek treatment before they escalate or spread to other teeth, gum, or the rest of your body.
If your oral health is good, you can support and assist others in achieving excellent oral health. You can guide and encourage your loved ones to brush and floss daily and to visit their dentists regularly for dental checkups. Thus, everyone around you will enjoy a beautiful and healthy smile.
Helping Your Loved One With Dental Hygiene
Dental care is for everyone, including children, teenagers, and adults. No one should be left behind when practicing good oral habits that result in strong and healthy teeth. Thus, it is your responsibility to help your loved ones practice dental hygiene for their overall well-being. Doing so will boost their general health since oral health affects their overall well-being. Fortunately, there are many ways to achieve this.
Practicing good oral habits is an excellent place to start if you want to encourage your loved ones to follow suit. Children will observe what you are doing and will be willing to try it when they see you do it. For example, you can start brushing your teeth after every meal and flossing daily to remove stuck food particles from your teeth. Assist the young ones by brushing their teeth at least twice daily for desired results. Once you create a habit, it will be easier for them to maintain it for the rest of their lives.
Ensure you have the same oral hygiene habits for adults and children. Oral hygiene routines for children and adults need not be different. A common misconception is that children need not take oral hygiene seriously since their baby teeth will eventually fall out. Even though your baby’s teeth are temporary, they are connected to vital structures in the mouth that could be affected by unhealthy habits. Cleaning your baby’s teeth ensures their gums and jawbone remain healthy and strong to support the permanent teeth.
Additionally, the health of your baby’s first teeth will determine the health of their permanent teeth. You need to set a good foundation for developing their permanent teeth by keeping their teeth and gums healthy. If a child’s baby teeth develop cavities or buildup, these issues could be transferred to permanent teeth, causing irreversible damage.
In addition to creating an oral hygiene routine for everyone in the family, tag along with them every time you visit your dentist for regular dental checkups. You can book different appointments with your dentist if you prefer individual checkups and examinations.
How Your Oral Hygiene Routine Should Look Like
Your oral hygiene routine will depend on your oral health needs. Dentists recommend a general routine for their patients, which can be personalized if you have specific needs. Typically, your routine must include the following:
Daily Brushing
Brushing your teeth should be the first habit on your list of oral hygiene habits. Brushing removes stuck foods from your teeth, gums, and tongue. It also refreshes your breath and eliminates harmful elements that cause dental decay and dangerous conditions like gum disease.
Some foods and beverages remain in your mouth when you eat and drink. The remains combine with harmful oral bacteria to produce a dangerous acid that creates a buildup on your teeth and gums. The buildup is a breeding ground for harmful bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease. Brushing your teeth after every meal, or at least twice daily, reduces your risk of cavities. It removes any stuck foods and drinks, minimizing the growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth.
However, you must use the right toothbrush and toothpaste to clean your mouth. Dentists recommend a soft brush to prevent damage to your teeth and gums. A fluoride-based toothpaste is also recommended since fluoride strengthens your teeth and protects them from cavities.
When brushing your teeth, take your time to ensure you reach all parts of your mouth. Pay more attention to nooks and crannies, and difficult-to-reach areas. You must also brush the tongue to reduce bad breath.
Daily Flossing
Flossing removes foods that could be stuck between your teeth. When chewing or biting, some foods enter the spaces between the teeth. These are some of the areas that are hard to reach when brushing your teeth. If the stuck foods are left between your teeth, they will encourage the growth of harmful bacteria, which causes tartar and plaque to build on your teeth and gums, causing gum disease and cavities.
Flossing once daily is sufficient to keep your teeth clean. However, you must use the recommended dental floss to avoid hurting your teeth and gums and to achieve the desired results.
Regular Rinsing
Rinsing your mouth regularly removes any foods that could have remained in your mouth after eating. It also refreshes your breath and discourages the growth of harmful bacteria. You should use a recommended mouthwash every morning. You can also use warm, salty water between meals to keep your mouth clean throughout the day. Sometimes, dentists recommend a special mouthwash for people struggling with halitosis or bad breath.
When using a mouthwash, switch it around the mouth for about a minute before spitting. A small amount of mouthwash is sufficient to keep your mouth clean.
Maintaining a Healthy Smile and Preventing Tooth Decay
A healthy smile includes strong, healthy teeth and healthy gums. These are what people see the first time you interact with them. It explains why some shy away from social interactions when they have oral or dental problems. Dental decay will affect your smile and self-esteem. It becomes increasingly challenging to smile broadly when one or more of your teeth are affected.
However, good oral habits like brushing and flossing daily can help you enjoy healthy and strong teeth. Regular dentist visits are also recommended to diagnose and treat dental issues at their onset.
Dental decay is a dental issue that affects your smile and confidence. It occurs when harmful bacteria combine with stuck foods in the mouth to produce a destructive acid that builds up on your teeth. The buildup develops on one tooth, creating a shelter for the harmful bacteria. It also weakens the enamel, causing it to wear and giving the harmful bacteria access to your tooth’s underlying structure. Dental decay affects your smile from the start because the buildup on your teeth is usually dark.
Thus, preventing dental decay is one way to enjoy a healthy smile. You can do this by brushing and flossing daily. Regular examinations by your dentist will also ensure any developing cavity is treated immediately before it affects your smile. During these regular visits, your dentist will clean your teeth professionally to remove buildup and sticky food particles that cause dental decay.
During these regular visits, dentists also check your dental restorations to ensure they work as they should. For example, they will check to ensure dental sealants protect your teeth from cavities. If there is a problem, your dentist will take care of it immediately. Your dentist will also recommend the right foods to eat, foods you should avoid, and some habits you must avoid to prevent dental decay and maintain a healthy smile.
Dos and Don’ts For a Healthy Smile
You can do a lot at home to maintain a healthy smile. Dentists have a long list of dos and don’ts for people looking to improve their oral health and general well-being.
For example, you can drink fluoridated water to strengthen your teeth. The strength of your teeth lies in their enamel. If the enamel is strong, you will enjoy healthy and strong teeth. Fluoride is vital because it strengthens the enamel, protecting your teeth’s underlying structures. Since most foods and drinks weaken the enamel, fluoride remineralizes it.
You could quit smoking and other tobacco products to maintain a healthy smile. Smoking stains your teeth and weakens the enamel. Once the enamel starts to wear out, it exposes the teeth’s dentin, which is usually not so strong. Continued smoking continually weakens your teeth, resulting in weak and damaged teeth. Smoking also interferes with blood flow to your gums, increasing your risk of gum disease.
You could also limit your alcohol and coffee intake to improve the strength and appearance of your teeth. Alcohol damages your teeth’s enamel, increasing their risk of staining. Weak teeth can easily break or crack, even with minimal impact. Additionally, you cannot enjoy the full functionality of your teeth if they are weak or damaged. Coffee and other common beverages, like tea and wine, stain your teeth, removing your smile's natural beauty. If you cannot quit alcohol, coffee, and other teeth-damaging beverages, limiting their intake can significantly improve your oral health.
Go for professional tooth cleaning at least twice a year. Maintaining good oral hygiene habits is good, but keeping your teeth, gums, and tongue clean is insufficient. Professional cleaning removes stuck foods and buildup from your teeth and gums, discouraging the growth of harmful bacteria.
Find Competent Dental Care Service Near Me
You need beautiful, strong, healthy teeth to enjoy their full functionality. Sadly, most of the foods and drinks you consume and some of your habits damage your teeth, making them weak, stained, and dysfunctional. Understanding dental care basics is vital to improving your teeth' health, strength, and well-being.
Northridge Advanced Dentistry offers timely, quality, and affordable dental care. Our dentists are experts in dental care and oral hygiene habits for a healthy smile. We can help you develop daily habits for strong and healthy teeth and gums. We can also review your dental care needs and create a treatment plan that could help you enjoy a healthy smile for life. Call us at 818-701-3010 for more information about our services in Northridge, CA.
