A beautiful smile is something that a lot of us wish to have. Those who do have it need to have no worries at all about how they look when they smile. Sometimes it requires orthodontic attention. Other times, all it needs is for us to be more vigilant in how we take care of our teeth. Oral hygiene does more than give us our smile and our confidence back. It reduces our risk of heart disease and cuts the chance of needing invasive, often painful oral surgery. So we’re going to take a look at some ways you can make sure you’re taking care of your smile.
Take care of your gums
Teeth don’t grow back. We all know that. That’s why it’s important that we keep our gums healthy. They ensure that we don’t lose our teeth. Poor gum care can also lead to infection. Infections often lead to trips to the emergency dentist. Often, teeth are removed when getting rid of the source of these infections. We may brush and floss and rinse our mouths when necessary. However, if we don’t do it properly and focus on the gum line, we run the risk of causing some very permanent damage.
Quit the habits
Poor oral hygiene isn’t the only culprit. Even if we do all we’re supposed to, our lifestyle can still result in discolouration. Besides making us more shy with our smile, this can resort in expensive teeth whitening. It’s our habits that most often lead to this discolouration. In particular, smoking and drinking coffee can dramatically change the colour of your teeth. Make sure you stop smoking and cut down caffeinated drinks as much as possible. Drinking cold and fruit drinks through a straw can be another way of saving your teeth from their discolouring effects, too.
Chew gum
Bacteria is a leading cause of oral problems. Scraping your tongue as well as brushing your teeth can get rid of a lot, but not all of them. Saliva is one of the most effective natural methods of introducing antibacterial agents in your mouth. With chewing gum, you can do it all day and between meals when your toothbrush isn’t handy. Just make sure that it’s sugar free gum or you might do your teeth more harm than good. Xylitol is an active ingredient in some chewing gums that has an even better antibacterial effect, too.
Change your diet
Because we have a varied diet, we’re always going to have need f ways to maintain our oral hygiene. However, there are foods that are helpful to our teeth and those that are the exact opposite. We should all know by now that sugary foods are dangerous to our teeth. Particularly potato chips which get stuck between our teeth and do real long term damage. Fruit juice is another one that can be surprisingly corrosive, despite its health benefits. Meanwhile, water contains fluoride that improve oral hygiene. Just another reason to get more of the clear stuff involved in your diet.
