Many of us easily overlook our oral hygiene. From time to time, we go to bed without brushing our teeth. And let’s face it, many of us fail to floss as much as we should. But our oral hygiene is actually important in more ways than we realize.
It’s not just about keeping teeth white and smiles beaming and beautiful. Good oral hygiene is about maintaining our overall health, too.
If you want to know how to have better oral hygiene, especially in between your visits to the dentist, here are some crucial steps and easy ways to help you achieve a cleaner mouth and gums.
Brush Your Teeth Properly
Brushing your teeth is obviously important for better oral hygiene. However, for the best results and cleaner, healthier teeth and gums, it needs to be done properly. It’s not just about a whiter smile. It’s about removing bacteria and plaque. Without doing so properly, it can lead to tooth decay and gum disease.
So, if you are still giving your teeth a light brushing and not taking time to address other areas, here is how to brush your teeth properly.
Rotate your toothbrush
Turn your brush at a 45-degree angle relative to your gums and teeth. At this angle, be sure to gently brush up and down in a circular motion, massaging the area. The trick here is to not scrub too hard. Otherwise, over time, your gums will recede. As you brush, be sure to clean the surface of each tooth. Make sure to address not only the areas that are seen when you smile, but the chewing surface, the cheek side and the tongue side.
Brush for two minutes
Try not to rush your brushing routine and attempt to reach at least two minutes. You can set a timer on your watch or phone to make sure you’re hitting the two-minute mark each time. After a while, though, it should become second nature.
Brush your tongue
In your brushing routine, don’t forget to brush your tongue! Our tongues can become home to the bacteria that cause bad breath, especially if you’re not much of a water drinker. It’s when you forget to brush your tongue that you wind up with that dry, fuzzy feeling.
Choose a soft toothbrush
Be sure to select a toothbrush that is soft with rounded bristles. This shape and size is important, as it helps you to reach the teeth farthest in the back. There is an extensive variety of toothbrushes available to choose, from manual, powered, hands-free and ionic. However, GO SMILE even offers toothbrushes with blue light technology that help keep your mouth super clean, killing germs and bacteria that cause cavities, bad breath and other common oral health issues.
Replace your toothbrush or toothbrush head
Remember to replace your toothbrush or toothbrush head. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends changing out your toothbrush every three to four months, at least – sooner if the brush has been used more frequently. The bristles will be your best indication to determine if it’s time for a new replacement head or a new toothbrush entirely.
Get a travel kit
Don’t leave your best toothbrush at home as you travel for vacation or work. When getting away to enjoy yourself, which often means indulging in delicious foods and more alcoholic drinks, it’s especially important to take care of your oral hygiene. Instead of slacking until you return home, carry with you a good oral hygiene travel kit with a decent toothbrush and toothpaste.
Use a quality toothpaste
Your toothbrush is only as good as your toothpaste. Make sure to choose a high-quality toothpaste that kills bacteria and removes plaque. But also be sure it’s chock-full of the proper ingredients to strengthen and fortify teeth and able to prevent cavities from forming.
Perform Interdental Cleaning
Interdental cleaning is also just as important as brushing your teeth. With interdental cleaning, you can remove plaque and bacteria that is not often reached by your usual brushing. Without a regular interdental cleaning, you can miss over one-third of the surface, allowing the buildup of plaque.
To have better oral hygiene, be sure to clean between your teeth once per day. You can do so using dental floss or tape, as well as interdental brushes or an electric water flosser. Cleaning between teeth and removing plaque means that the plaque stands less of a chance to harden into tartar.
Like a toothbrush, dental floss or an interdental brush should be used gently. Simply place the brush through each gap between the teeth. Never force the brush through the gaps. Interdental brushes come in many sizes, so if you find that the brush bends, seek out a smaller brush size. One tip: On your next dentist visit, ask them for a recommendation on the correct size for your mouth.
Limit Certain Substances
When it comes to better oral hygiene, it goes without saying that all substances that come in contact with your mouth will have an effect. Water will keep your tongue hydrated, which will avoid dry mouth and bad breath. However, there are certain substances, drinks and foods that can wreak havoc on our gums and teeth. While some are common and hard to eliminate entirely, it’s important to be aware of your intake and limit it whenever possible. Here are some of those substances:
Sugars
Harmful bacteria in your mouth will feed on sugar, so avoiding sugar can keep them from multiplying. Sugary foods, such as ice cream and candy, as well as drinks like sodas and lattes, are okay in moderation. But should you find yourself needing to satisfy a sweet tooth and sugar craving, do not brush immediately after. Instead, drink a glass of water to flush the sugars away as best you can.
Acidic Foods and Drinks
For better oral hygiene, limit your consumption of acidic foods and drinks. Acid strips enamel of its minerals, eventually causing enough damage to create a sensitive interior structure. More so, it leaves your teeth unprotected and can create bacteria that causes more frequent cavities and dentist visits.
Alcohol
We all enjoy a glass of wine with dinner or at the end of a long, stressful workday. But drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can lead to oral tissue and gum irritations. In general, excessive alcohol consumption can cause your mouth and gums to heal slower after receiving oral surgery.
Smoking
Smoking has been proven to have quite harmful effects on your oral hygiene, among many other things. Smoking not only yellows your teeth, but it prevents the normal function of tissue cells around your gum and mouth. Over time, this can affect the attachment of bone and soft tissue surrounding your teeth, which ultimately means you are more likely to have infections. It will also cause improper blood flow to the gums.
Schedule Routine Dentist Visits
Another way to guarantee better oral hygiene is to schedule routine visits to the dentist so they can perform a thorough cleaning. While there are many products and devices you can use in the comfort of your own home, there’s nothing quite as meticulous as a professional cleaning. A dentist can give your teeth and gums a proper examination to determine if there is anything that needs to be addressed sooner than later. For instance, a dentist can:
Remove plaque and calculus buildup
Plaque and calculus, if not taken care of, can embed itself underneath the gum tissues. Over time, it can produce enzymes that silently cause periodontal disease and dissolve away the bones. It’s something that has to be maintained, and unlike a cavity, you won’t feel the pain that indicates it’s even happening.
Fill cavities
Caught early enough, a smaller cavity can be repaired through a filling. This is one of the main reasons to visit a dentist regularly. When you push off your visits, a microscopic cavity that could have been prevented can turn into something much worse. If a cavity becomes big enough or deep enough, it can cause lots of pain and swelling. It could even result in the loss of a tooth, which could mean a costly cosmetic fix.
With there still being a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic, some non-essential dental care may need to be delayed until further notice. Be sure to contact your dentist for the best course of action.
Monitor gum disease
Studies have long shown that there is a correlation between gum disease and heart disease. Essentially, sugars and starches that build up on the teeth can produce lots of bacteria, which end up in our bloodstream. Bacteria is normal in our mouth, but gum disease can increase the level in which bacteria are produced. If not monitored closely, gum disease can have fatal consequences, ending up in the heart and clogging blood vessels.
Keep your overall health in check
Besides gum disease, there are many other connections between your oral health and overall wellness. Periodontal disease can trigger and create many other issues throughout the entire body, such as Endocarditis, Alzheimer’s Disease, Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis and mouth cancers. Since your smile plays an important role in confidence levels, unhealthy oral hygiene can also lead to poor mental health.
It’s critical to have your teeth, as well as gums, kept in check by a professional. Try to avoid skipping appointments and see a dentist twice a year for a professional cleaning. Even for those without dental insurance, you can easily locate an affordable dentist or a local dentistry school and be able to pay out of pocket.
At-Home Products for Better Oral Hygiene
In between dentist visits, there are numerous ways to guarantee better oral hygiene. Many of these are easy-to-use at-home devices, available with new and advanced technology to keep your mouth bacteria-free and teeth white and healthy-looking. Here are some of GO SMILE’s products to keep a healthy and professional at-home teeth whitening routine for better oral hygiene.
Blue light toothbrush
As mentioned, blue light technology is wonderful at killing bacteria. Make it part of your daily brushing routine and get yourself a blue light toothbrush.
Accompanied by the GO SMILE Smart Brush, which offers low-frequency, light-wave technology, you can accelerate the rate of your whitening toothpaste. Some results have even been proven to whiten teeth in just two days.
Luxury toothpaste
Unlike standard toothpaste you grab at the store, luxury toothpaste has active ingredients and even vitamins to keep your teeth healthy. Such ingredients and enrichments include sodium fluoride and vitamins A, C and E. This vitamin-enriched, luxury toothpaste is also ideal for those who regularly drink citrus, coffee and alcoholic beverages.
GO SMILE luxury toothpaste also works quite well when it’s paired with a blue light toothbrush and is capable of achieving professional-looking results.
Travel kits
As mentioned, it’s best not to slack on your oral hygiene so keep on top of cleaning – even when you’re traveling! That’s why GO SMILE offers a collection of travel-sized kits, complete with space-saving, portable and battery-powered Sonic toothbrushes, as well as TSA-friendly travel-sized tubes of gel and toothpaste for stowing in your carry-on luggage. From full jetsetter whitening kits that allow you to maintain your bright smile regimen while you’re away from home to a Sonic toothbrush with blue light technology, there is something for everyone.
Teeth whitening kits
It’s good to know how to have better oral hygiene and take care of your teeth. However, if you still want a dazzling, healthier-looking smile to boost your confidence, consider using at-home teeth whitening kits. GO SMILE offers premium at-home kits that provide everything you need to deeply whiten teeth in the comfort of your own home. With the BLU Hands-Free Teeth Whitening Device, you can even place it between your teeth as you perform household tasks or watch a favorite TV show.
However you choose to take care of your teeth and gums to maintain better oral hygiene, keep it up! When it comes to your overall health, consistency is key. Also, don’t skip those dentist appointments. Even with all the at-home gear and tools available to us, it’s still crucial to have a professional examine those chompers to ensure they’re good and healthy!
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