Oral Hygiene
Although there are some amazing dental treatments and procedures available for repairing teeth, proper oral hygiene is your front line of defense against tooth decay. By maintaining good oral hygiene habits at home, you’re making it far less likely that you will need expensive and complicated dental work down the road.
Why is oral hygiene so important?
As with any type of medical condition, dental problems are best handled at an early stage for the most successful outcomes. And, of course, prevention is even better than getting early treatment.
By keeping up with your oral hygiene at home, you are helping to prevent tooth decay and gum disease. If you pair your own efforts at home with regular dental cleaning appointments, you can help avoid unnecessary dental work in the future.
How To Brush
You should be brushing your teeth at least twice daily, preferably after every meal. If you should have a snack away from home, just rinse your mouth out with water to remove much of the food debris from your mouth. When you return home, resume your normal oral hygiene routine.
How To Floss
Even though you may be brushing your teeth twice a day, you can still have food debris trapped in hard-to-reach places, like between your teeth. By flossing your teeth at least once a day, you are removing trapped food particles that could otherwise feed the bacteria that cause tooth decay.
Caring for Sensitive Teeth
If you have sensitive teeth, you should make an appointment to learn the cause. In the meantime, make sure that your toothbrush does not have very hard bristles that could irritate your gums. You may also want to purchase a tooth sensitivity toothpaste.
Choosing Oral Hygiene Products
When it comes to toothpaste, select one that contains fluoride, which is recommended by the American Dental Association.
You want to select a toothbrush that does not have overly hard bristles. Make sure that you buy a new toothbrush about every three months or so, or whenever you notice that its bristles have become frayed.
Professional Dental Cleaning
Practicing proper oral hygiene at home is extremely important, but it’s not always enough. You can miss spots, for example. When you undergo a professional dental cleaning, your dental hygienist can remove all of the plaque from the surfaces of your teeth for the prevention of gum disease.
Another reason why professional dental cleaning is so important is that accumulations of plaque can lead to tartar. This is a hardened form of plaque that can only be removed by a dental professional.
Schedule Your Appointment
Have you been putting off your next dental exam and cleaning appointment? If so, we strongly encourage you to contact us and get back on track with these important appointments by scheduling your next one today.