Often patients blame their poor dental health on their genetics and their parents lack of attention to their dental needs. While these two factors do play a role in a patients dental health, often there are a number of other reasons that some patients can experience a high frequency of dental problems, while others seem to have fewer major dental issues. This article will explain some alternative reasons why some patients experience better dental health than others. I have listed below my top ten secrets to maintaining a healthy mouth.
1. Take responsibility for your mouth! Keeping ones teeth healthy is ultimately ones own responsibility. Good home care, diet and regularly scheduled check ups and cleanings are the key! Each person must take the time on a daily basis to keep his or her mouth healthy. No magic bullet exists that will do it for us. There is no magic mouthwash that will work on its own, or no high tech toothbrush that will clean automatically; The secret is to take responsibility for our own oral health. The pages of this website are designed to help educate. Please take the time to look at our site map and read some of the articles that interest you.
2. Brush and floss your teeth on a daily basis, Using a good quality electric toothbrush will help, and cleaning interproximally with floss, an interdental brush or Stimudents is also key. These efforts may take only three minutes a day but they are well worth it.
3. Schedule regular checkups and cleanings at the dentist. It helps to pre-appoint, since this will help insure that you get your cleanings at the optimal time . These cleanings help get rid of plaque and tarter that can cause recession and bone loss around your teeth. Although most insurance plans pay for cleanings every six months, most patients over forty would do well to schedule 3 or 4 month recalls.
4. Ask the hygienist or dentist to check your brushing and flossing technique. By demonstrating for them your technique , it will allow them an opportunity to offer suggestions that may help you do a better job.
5. Do not chew on bones, ice cubes, pens or pencils since these can cause stress induced fractures in teeth, especially those that have already received fillings.
6. Wearing a night guard is usually recommended for patients, since it prevents wear that can occur during sleep caused by nighttime bruxing. Another benefit is that a properly designed night guard will not only protect the teeth from wear, but it will also function as a retainer to keep the teeth in their proper position over the course of a lifetime.
7. Refrain from excessive drinking of carbonated sodas, since these have been shown to accelerate the chemical erosion of teeth. Instead drink non sweetened, beverages, without carbonation. Similarly drinking acidic beverages over the course of the day are a bad idea, since they too can accelerate wear on teeth. If you do consume some of these beverages do not brush immediately afterwards since the acid present in the mouth can soften any exposed enamel and dentin and increase the amount of wear caused by brushing.
8. Diet plays a large role in keeping our teeth healthy. Eating sweets and snacking on refined carbohydrates throughout the day is a bad idea since they are dosing our teeth with food substances that are broken down easily to sucrose and fructose easily by the bacteria in plaque. The bacteria in plaque “love these instant energy boosters” and will multiply rapidly when exposed to them on a regular basis. Similarly brushing after every snack is not really practical. Carbohydrates should be consumed with meals so that they will pass out of the mouth relatively quickly. After eating most of the food residue stays present in the mouth for about twenty minutes.
9. Do not wait until you have pain to visit your dentist. Most dental problems do not hurt initially. Instead they start hurting when as problems worsen and are harder to solve for the dentist. Fix problems early and do not procrastinate having the dentist perform recommended treatments.
10. Find a good dentist and try to stick with them. Finding a good dentist is can be critical to the long term health of your mouth. Early diagnosis and recommending the appropriate treatment is very important to a patients dental health. Switching dentists frequently, actually, can be risky to your dental health. Dentists can do things differently, and vary in how they diagnose problems and the types of treatments they may recommend. If you are forced to change your dentists frequently, your mouth may be a greater risk. Many patients with dental insurance feel obligated to switch dentists if their company switches dental insurance and this can lead to frequent changes in their providers
