The dental health tips below will provide you with information and resources on a variety of different topics.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that helps prevent tooth decay. If your main source of drinking water is bottled water, you might be missing out on the decay-preventing benefits of fluoride, according to the American Dental Association. Most bottled waters do not contain optimal levels of fluoride and some do not contain any at all. If you just prefer drinking bottled water, consider using tap water in other ways, such as when preparing meals and for mixing juices and powdered drinks.
Sugar in soft drinks, fruit juices, and sports drinks can lead to tooth decay. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), acid is produced each time sugar comes in contact with the bacteria in your mouth. This acid eats away at your teeth for about 20 minutes after you take a sip and this acid can result in cavities. Unfortunately, diet soft drinks and carbonated water aren't any better. The ADA says that most soft drinks also contain phosphoric and citric acid, which can cause tooth erosion. To improve your dental health, you should try to limit your soft drink consumption and instead snack on nutritious foods. Other dental health tips include making sure you brush twice a day, floss once a day, and see your dentist regularly for a check-up.
One of the latest dental health tips to prevent tooth decay and gum disease is probably right in your refrigerator. Cranberry juice has been hailed as a healthy beverage choice, but it also appears to stop the bacteria that causes cavities and gum disease, according to preliminary research from the University of Rochester. In one study, two doses of a beverage with 25 percent cranberry juice stopped bacteria from clinging by as much as 85 percent.
Lots of diets focus on low carbohydrate and no-carbohydrate foods. If you're part of one of these diet plans, you may find yourself with bad breath. When you remove carbohydrates from your diet, your body burns excess fat. The chemicals released when your body burns this fat can cause bad breath. The American Dental Hygienists' Association suggests you should use automated toothbrushes, clean your tongue, and see your dentist for a professional cleaning to improve your dental health. To help curb bad breath, chewing on parsley can also help.
Cheeses such as Monterey Jack, aged Cheddar, and Swiss can fight cavities when eaten as a snack or at the end of a meal. Cheese helps stimulate saliva, which flushes sugars and starches away from the teeth, and neutralizes harmful acids. The calcium, phosphorous, and other nutrients found in cheese are also helpful in rebuilding tooth enamel.
It has been recognized that there is a link between the food choices we make and our overall health, including dental health. We all know that making bad snack choices too frequently and not following up with brushing and flossing can hurt our dental health as well as the rest of our bodies. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research suggests you think about a couple of things when reaching for your snack:
- The number of sugary snacks you eat per day. If you snack throughout the day, you should avoid foods with a lot of fat and sugar.
- How long the sugary food stays in your mouth. Damaging acids can affect your teeth for at least 20 minutes before they are neutralized.
- The texture of the sugary food. Sticky and chewy foods tend to coat your teeth in sugar longer.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture encourages the following choices from its Food Guide Pyramid for snacks and meals:
- Breads, cereal, and other grains
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Meat, fish, poultry, dry beans, nuts, and eggs
- Cheese, milk, and yogurt
Besides eating the right foods, you can help maintain your overall dental health by following these dental tips: floss once a day, brush twice a day, and schedule regular dental check-ups.
More tips to improve dental health...
Here are some dental health tips to help maintain your children's bright smiles...:
- Arrange dentist visits. Schedule regular dentist appointments and help your children learn good brushing and flossing habits.
- Be cautious. Talk to your dentist about getting a mouth guard if your child is involved in sports or recreational activities to help prevent injuries to the mouth.
- Cut down on sugary drinks. Encourage your children to avoid soda, sports drinks, and fruit drinks by packing bottled water for them.
- Dictate your checkup schedule. Make appointments for your college students far in advance to make sure your dentist can see them during breaks from school.
- Encourage healthy eating. Talk to your children about making healthy snack and food choices at the school cafeteria.
- Focus on you. Help your children learn good dental health habits by setting an example through brushing and flossing daily, eating nutritiously, drinking lots of water, and regularly seeing your dentist.
Babies need good dental health, too. Once your baby has a tooth, you can wipe it and the gums with clean gauze or a cloth. Once two teeth begin to touch, you can floss your baby's teeth. Within six months of the eruption of the first tooth, you should take your baby to the dentist, according to the American Dental Association.
When you have braces, keeping your teeth clean takes a little extra time and effort. To minimize plaque and food debris, you should follow your orthodontist's dental health tips on how and how often you need to brush and floss. Your dentist may also recommend a fluoride mouthwash for hard-to-reach spots. According to the American Association of Orthodontists, patients with braces should avoid sticky, chewy, and hard foods, as well as chewing on pens and other hard objects that can damage braces.
Most dental health tips focus on caring for your teeth, but it is also important to extend this care to your toothbrush. Here are some dental health tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on caring for your main tool, the toothbrush:
- Don't share toothbrushes. This can increase your risk for infections.
- Make sure that toothbrushes stored in the same holder do not touch. Also, make sure you clean the holder frequently.
- After brushing, thoroughly rinse your toothbrush with tap water to remove leftover toothpaste and debris, air-dry, and store in an upright position.
- Replace your toothbrush every three or four months. If bristles look worn or if you've had a cold, sore throat, or flu, your toothbrush might need replaced sooner.
- Do not routinely cover your toothbrush or store it in a closed container, this can promote bacterial growth.
- It is not necessary to disinfect your toothbrush.
Even though dental health continues to improve for many Americans, as many as 28 percent of children aged 2 to 5 have tooth decay, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's a 4 percent increase from the study from 10 years earlier. Many people do not know that tooth decay is more common among young children than any other chronic illness. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, without preventive dental care, the effects of tooth decay on a child's development can be striking:
- Untreated cavities in children can be associated with growth, learning and speech problems, and can even result in costly emergency room visits.
- Tooth decay can last a lifetime.
- Improper oral hygiene can increase the risk of developing heart disease, suffering from a stroke, or having a low birth-weight baby later in life.
Here are some dental health tips for improving your brushing technique:
- Use toothpaste with fluoride.
- Buy a compact toothbrush with soft, round bristles.
- Hold the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and move it in short, back and forth motions or small circular motions on both sides of your teeth. Brush chewing surfaces straight on. To clean the inside of front teeth, hold the brush upright and move up and down.
- Brush at least twice a day for two to three minutes each time.
- To help freshen breath, brush your tongue.
- Rinse.
If sensitive teeth are ruining the enjoyment of your favorite foods, see your dentist. If your dentist rules out cavities and fractures, the cause of your sensitivity could be due to worn tooth enamel, a cracked tooth, or an exposed root, according to the American Dental Association. Here are some tips that may help:
- Avoid over-brushing.
- Keep gums from receding by brushing them correctly with a soft toothbrush.
- Your dentist may suggest brushing with a desensitizing toothpaste.
- If this fails, your dentist may apply a fluoride gel to strengthen the enamel and reduce the transmissions.
- If receding gums are to blame, bonding agents can seal the roots of sensitive teeth.
- For severe, persistent hypersensitivity, your dentist may recommend a root canal if you do not respond to the tips above.
Because of the important role that dentures play in helping you chew, improving your speech, and supporting your facial muscles, they require a little extra care. Below, we have outlined some dental tips to help you give them the TLC they deserve:
- Before you put your denture in, brush your gums, tongue, and palate every morning.
- Remove and brush your denture daily with a soft-bristled toothbrush or denture brush and denture cleaner or paste.
- Do not clean your denture in the dishwasher or in boiling water, as this can cause warping.
- Remove your denture at night, this promotes oral health by giving tissue a rest and allowing for normal cleansing by the tongue and saliva.
- When you are not wearing your denture, soak it in denture cleanser or water to keep it from drying out and losing its shape.
- If you have a partial denture, remove it before brushing your natural teeth.
- Do not try to adjust or repair your denture on your own. Leave this to the experts.
- Follow your dentists' instructions on wearing and care for your denture and continue with your regular dental checkups.
Here are some dental health tips for keeping your mouth healthy during vacation:
- When traveling abroad, make sure you brush your teeth with bottled water to avoid any microorganisms in foreign water that can make you sick.
- Store your toothbrush in a travel container with air holes so bristles can dry.
- Eat a well-balanced diet and choose your snacks carefully. Try to stay away from sticky, sugary snacks and beverages.
- Protect your lips with sunscreen.
- Carry emergency numbers for your dentist.
Bottles given at naptime or bedtime can cause baby teeth to decay over time. Bacteria in your baby's mouth and the natural sugar found in fruit juice, soda, and even milk and formula can linger, resulting in acids that can erode teeth enamel. Here are some dental health tips to help avoid the problem:
- After feeding, wipe your infant's gums with gauze or a damp washcloth.
- Don't allow your baby to fall asleep with a bottle.
- Never dip a pacifier in any type of sweetened syrup or liquid.
- Teach your baby to drink from a cup as soon as possible.
