For concerned parents up and down the country, it is very important that they are making sure that their children’s teeth are kept in the best of health. Anyone who had poor oral hygiene conditions as a youth will be all too aware that problems which spring up during childhood can have an effect which last a life time. In consultation with your Weston-super-Mare dentist, you can ensure that your child has healthy teeth by following some simple advice.
Infant teeth undergo a period of development whereby the milk teeth will be lost and the wisdom teeth come through later. But really, children’s teeth are little different to adult teeth and are under threat in the same way from the same potentially damaging factors. Just like adults, children ought to be brushing their teeth at least twice a day and should make the same dietary choices that will lead to good oral health.
The difficult aspect of this is that children will sometimes need a great deal of encouragement to take care of their teeth. Indeed, until they are a certain age, children will need a degree of help in order to physically brush their well. Once they are old enough to do so effectively, the important thing is to monitor their tooth brushing so that they are doing it adequately. Sometimes, incentives work well in making sure that dental health becomes part of a regular routine.
Fluoride should be used in the tooth paste of children, apart from when they are under two years of age. This is really important is it will help to strengthen the enamel on the teeth for the future.
Taking good care of your teeth is probably not something that you think about very often. For most people, oral hygiene involves brushing the teeth twice a day and going to see the dentist once every six months. These are very important aspects and form the bedrock of a good oral hygiene routine, but there is more to taking care of your teeth and gums than just brushing and going to see the dentist. Read on to find out more.
Brushing of the teeth should indeed take place twice a day at least and many people like to do so after meals too. This ensures that most of the plaque that is formed by eating and drinking is removed. But there are important factors that must be borne in mind when brushing too. You should be using a tooth brush that has firm and effective bristles and making sure that you cover all of the areas of your teeth (including the gum line) when you brush. Tooth paste that contains fluoride helps with strengthening enamel as so it is worthwhile using it.
You should always floss as part of your routine too. Far too many adults in the United Kingdom neglect to do so and this explains in part why there are high rates of gum disease in this country. Flossing removes the plaque that can build up between teeth and evade even expert and diligent brushing.
Your local dentist in Bristol is a vital ally in the fight to maintain high standards of oral hygiene. Going to see him or her every six months for a check up will be a great help because any dental ailment or condition can be spotted at its genesis and dealt with before it causes you problems.
If you get to grips with the best way to brush and floss your teeth then these techniques will become second nature to you, won’t have to think about it and you’ll have excellent oral hygiene as well. Take the time to learn about how to brush your teeth and floss them properly; it won’t take long and you’ll be better off for it!
Dentists in Chepstow advise that you brush your teeth at least twice a day. Good times to do this are first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Quite apart from being convenient, it is good to brush your teeth first thing in the morning because saliva production is at its lowest during sleep and so plaque can flourish. By brushing at the end of the day you will be removing the plaque that has formed from eating meals.
You should use a brush that is comfortable to hold and that has firm, erect bristles on a small head that can easily be manoeuvred around your mouth. Apply a small amount of tooth paste that has been enriched with fluoride and a little water and brush your teeth in a gentle but firm motion. Be sure to brush the interior of your mouth and the exterior and cover all of your teeth front and back.
This should remove most of the plaque but flossing will take care of the rest. Flossing is when you pull a thin piece of tape through the gaps between your teeth. This is a great help in the fight against gum disease because plaque can easily hide there and cause problems.
‘A healthy body makes for a healthy mind’, so they say. And there is nothing worse for your mind than to have to deal with unhealthy teeth. Sensitivity when you eat and drink can be a real burden, not to mention the possibility of frequent visits to the dental surgery to sort out the resultant problems. By following the advice of your Weston-Super-Mare dentist you can make sure that you have an excellent standard of oral hygiene and won’t have to worry about the health of your mouth.
Good oral hygiene can be achieved by making sure that you brush your teeth at least twice a day to remove the acidic plaque that will have built up on your teeth when you have eaten sugary and starchy foods. It is essential that plaque is removed so that it doesn’t corrode your protective enamel and start to break down teeth.
You should brush with a tooth brush that has nice, firm bristles and a comfortable handle. Use a fluoride tooth paste so that your enamel can be strengthened and make sure that you are brushing the rear of your teeth as well as the fronts of them. Brushing should be followed by flossing to get rid of plaque from in between teeth.
Dietary and lifestyle choices play a part too and you should think carefully about how much sugar you are eating and whether you ought to be brushing after such consumption. Smoking can be bad for the health of your mouth too as it means that less saliva is produced. Think about quitting as part of your drive for much better oral hygiene.
Life is all about routines if you want to be efficient in what you do. Without routinizing an activity that you intend to do you might find that you are not doing it. Taking care of your teeth and gums is just one of these activities that you should be pursuing every day, without fail so that your mouth is in the best possible state. Your Bristol dentist can help you by giving you a number of handy hints about this.
Daily dental hygiene goes beyond just brushing, but brushing is a very important part of it. First thing in the morning and last thing at night, you should brush your teeth thoroughly but carefully so that as much plaque as possible is removed from the surfaces of your teeth. Use a brush with strong bristles and some fluoride tooth paste so that your enamel is strengthened in the process of brushing.
Flossing too must form a part of your routine so that plaque is removed from between the teeth where it can cause gum disease and tooth decay. Failure to floss every day can ultimately lead to tooth loss; a painful and undignified event which will require some sort of replacement as a solution.
The diet you choose to eat every day has an impact on the health of your teeth too. Eating lots of food and drink which contains sugar and starch puts your teeth and gums at greater risk because they contribute to greater amounts of plaque forming in the mouth. Smoking is not just bad for your lungs and heart; it can also affect your mouth by decreasing saliva production and leaving your mouth more open to attack from plaque.
Okay, now listen up. If you can learn to keep plaque at bay successfully in Bristol, you have good chance of having good oral health throughout your life. Unfortunately, people are still relatively ignorant when it comes to oral hygiene, so maybe it’s time to take time out and re-educate yourself in looking after your teeth and gums. Firstly, try to watch what you eat to give yourself a strong constitution, and cut back on the joys of life, such as smoking and drinking; doing this will give you a good platform to build from. Then you’re into the heady world of toothbrushes, pastes and mouth-washes. These are important to get right (it may take time at first), because just by keeping your teeth clear of bacteria by brushing and flossing twice a day, will give you a fighting chance against plaque. There are many to choose from, but by enlisting the help of your dentist, you should get there in the end: be sure to keep your brush clean and change it regularly for a new one. Of course, if you still get into trouble and some of those evils get through, you always have the dentist to call on for back-up. They will be able to clean your teeth thoroughly and mend anything that has gone wrong-make sure you keep up your visits for these reasons alone.
Being healthy has so many benefits. As the body and mind are intimately linked, being healthy means that you are likely to feel happier too. Getting out of bed becomes easier and you will be more productive and a better person to be around. When considering your health it is best to think holistically, that is by considering the whole picture of your general hygiene. You shouldn’t miss out being diligent in your oral health.
Taking care of your mouth will ensure that you can do little things that you take for granted, free from pain or inconvenience. Think about it: your mouth is an integral part of eating, drinking, talking, smiling, even breathing. It doesn’t have to be a major chore for you to look after your mouth effectively.
The most basic steps are brushing and flossing in such a way that your mouth remains as free from plaque as it possibly can be. To achieve this, you should use a brush with erect bristles that are not frayed and a fluoride enriched tooth paste. Brush first thing in the morning, last thing at night and again after meals or sugary snacks if you feel it necessary. Flossing should remove any plaque that is hiding between teeth too.
Having good oral hygiene ought to manifest itself in teeth that are string and free from pain. They should be a nice tone of white; yellowing of the teeth means that plaque has hardened into tartar and decay is likely. Your gums should be pink and free from any discolouration. Going to see your Chepstow dentist for regular appointments to monitor your oral hygiene is a great help too.
Yes, I know you had a fantastic night out in Bristol and though you’ve woken up with a bit of a hangover, you’ve a pocket full of phone numbers; life’s fabulous! Now go and clean your teeth, because now you’re on a roll, you want to keep it going don’t you? Clean, healthy teeth are the first thing another person sees when you open your mouth; they almost reflect the confidence that streams out from within you. Now it’s important to keep it that way for that reason alone. But a regular floss, brush and mouth wash each day is the driving force behind maintaining a healthy mouth and lifestyle and most importantly, your overall health. Even if you miss one brush and have forgotten to remove the residue of food from the night before, bacteria can set in very quickly. If this is allowed to develop, plaque forms on the teeth and tartar builds up. Then you can start to have problems with your gums; they might bleed and weep. Next stop is tooth decay, eventually tooth loss and a second mortgage to put it all right. Not so pretty now, are you? Dentists can only try to rectify what’s put in front of them- they will do their best, but it’s down to you to do the legwork and keep up with a regular regime of oral hygiene; it should almost be automatic.
Taking excellent care of your mouth is not exactly rocket science, which is a good thing! By following a few simple guidelines you can ensure that you have a life time of good oral hygiene, allowing your mouth to function as it should. The consequences of not pursuing good oral hygiene habits can be rather inconvenient to say the least.
The main aim of taking care of your mouth at home is to remove plaque, a troublesome subject produced when you eat and drink. Plaque is what causes teeth to decay and gums to become diseased. First of all you should be brushing your teeth at least twice a day. Use tooth paste which contains fluoride because it helps to strengthen enamel (the hard substance which coats your teeth). You ought to brush for about three minutes at a time but not too aggressively as it can damage the very things which you are trying to look after.
Make sure you floss too as plaque can easily be missed by your tooth brush, no matter how adept you are at using it. Plaque finds its way between teeth and can only be removing by pulling floss back and forth. Eat a healthy, balanced diet too as this should minimise the amount of plaque which is produced in your mouth. Avoid such activities as regularly drinking too much alcohol and smoking as they can be bad for the health of your mouth.
Your Bristol dentist will be an expert in all areas relating to the hygiene of your mouth so you shouldn’t hesitate in asking him or her if you have any queries about how best to look after your teeth and gums.
When you are taking care of your teeth and gums you shouldn’t limit your strategy to brushing and flossing. Of course they are vital activities which should be carried out daily in the correct fashion: brushing twice for at least three minutes and again after meals if desired, using a fluoride enriched tooth paste and so on. But there are other things to consider when trying to give your mouth the best chance of staying healthy.
Certain foods cause more plaque to be produced and these should be avoided, kept to a minimum or eating immediately prior to brushing. It is substances which contain a lot of sugar and or starch which produce the most plaque in your mouth. Plaque can attack the enamel which naturally protects your teeth and so it is best to minimise the amount of it which can thrive in your mouth. Sweet treats should be just that: treats. But also foods like fruit and fruit drinks can produce a lot of plaque. These should not be avoided because they are nutritious but you should think about when you are eating them.
Sometimes people like to brush immediately after a meal so that plaque is stopped in its tracks. Some choose to have a little cheese after their dessert because this can actually remove some of the plaque that your sugary course will have produced in your mouth.
The key is to be sensible with your diet and eat all the food groups in balanced proportions. There is nothing inherently wrong with eating sugary and starchy things, indeed the body needs them, but you should keep them to a minimum. Your Swindon dentist is an expert in such matters and can advise you about the right diet to keep your teeth and gums healthy.
Dr Gerrard is a Bristol based Cosmetic dentist with many years of experience and is one of only a small number of dentists accredited by The British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
