How to Keep Teeth Clean and Healthy

We frequently handle multiple tasks in today's fast-paced world, juggling work, family, and other personal obligations. While it is easy to let oral healthcare slide when you are frequently on the go, staying on top of your dental and oral health is vital for your smile aesthetics and overall body health.

Doing that could be challenging, especially if you have a busy schedule, but worry not. Below, we have compiled top-notch practical tips to help you keep your teeth healthy, even if your life is fast-paced:

Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated is often the most overlooked aspect of maintaining optimal dental and oral health, but it is critical. Drinking adequate water daily can help ensure your mouth stays moist and your body has enough water, which can help support adequate saliva production.

In addition to helping you prevent dry mouth issues, proper saliva production is vital because it helps neutralize acidity, which could erode your tooth enamel, and clear out plaque-causing food particles in your mouth. To ensure you are always hydrated, have a reusable water container at your desk to sip water from regularly throughout the day.

Drinking water after eating can also help clean out food particles that could become lodged between your teeth, causing bad breath, and create an excellent environment for cavity-causing bacteria to thrive. If brushing your mouth after eating is challenging, swishing water around your teeth can assist in keeping your teeth clean in between your usual brushing periods.

Brush Your Teeth Thoroughly At Least Twice Daily

Thoroughly brushing your teeth daily is one of the key tips for maintaining excellent oral and dental hygiene. Brushing your teeth at least twice for two to three minutes daily using fluoridated toothpaste can help remove bacteria and plaque from your mouth. Introducing your children to toothbrushing early in life can assist in building a strong foundation for dental hygiene.

For the best results when brushing your teeth, consider using a toothbrush with soft bristles to avoid injuring your gums and weakening your tooth enamel. Brushing your teeth correctly is vital, as is brushing at least twice daily. The correct teeth brushing technique helps prevent injury to your gum tissues while you are at it.

The best way to complete your brushing is by using gentle circular motions, and remember to focus on all your tooth surfaces, including the back surfaces. During the brushing process, also remember to brush your cheeks and tongue and rinse your mouth thoroughly afterwards to wash out microbes and bacteria.

If you are unsure how to brush your teeth correctly, consult your dentist. Brushing your teeth correctly can go a long way in helping you stay on top of your dental and oral health.

Floss Your Teeth Daily

Flossing your teeth daily is as important as brushing them. Flossing helps remove food particles between the spaces in your teeth and the bacterial film that forms over them. Failure to remove these food particles in your mouth through flossing could cause bad breath and create an ideal environment for the harmful bacteria to multiply, increasing your risk of developing cavities and gum disease.

However, you can prevent these issues by adding at least two to three minutes to your daily oral care regimen. Flossing your teeth in the morning and at night helps ensure nothing remains stuck between the spaces of your teeth after you complete the brushing process.

Additionally, dental flossing aids in monitoring the health of your mouth because, during this routine process, you can check and detect areas with redness and swelling. The correct process for flossing teeth involves pushing your dental floss down to your gumline before pressing it against every side of your tooth.

Then, gently move the floss up and down against both sides of each tooth.

Replace the Toothbrush Regularly

Ideally, replace your toothbrush, or the head, if you use an electric model, every three to four months, or even sooner when the bristles wear out. Regularly replacing your toothbrush is necessary because frayed bristles are less effective and may cause gum irritation or damage.

After brushing your teeth and gums, rinse your toothbrush well and store it somewhere that will allow it to dry quickly.

Use a Mouthguard to Avoid Teeth Injury During Contact Sports

Teeth and mouth injuries are common, but some are preventable. While some causes of teeth injuries, like auto accidents or falls, might be unpreventable, you can prevent teeth injuries during contact sports by wearing a mouthguard. During contact sports, a mouthguard can help reduce the impact of trauma on your mouth area, preventing teeth-related injuries, like cracks, chips, and avulsed teeth.

In addition to auto accidents and falls, biting or chewing hard foods like nuts can cause tooth cracks. Hence, limiting your intake of these foods is advisable to avoid tooth injuries.

Schedule Regular Dental Appointments With Your Dentist

Regular dental appointments with a dentist are crucial to your dental and oral care regimen. Generally speaking, you should plan a check-up with your dentist twice yearly or after every six (6) months. During these routine appointments with your dentist, he/she can diagnose and treat your oral and dental health issues before they turn severe and costly.

Another crucial aspect of the routine dental appointment with your dentist is deep teeth cleaning. While brushing your teeth helps remove plaque from your mouth, some stubborn stains and hardened tartar could require a dentist's intervention.

Your dentist has specialized tools that can help scrape stains and discolorations from your teeth through a process known as scaling and root planing for a brighter smile that you deserve. In addition to enhancing your smile aesthetics, scaling and root planing also help keep gum disease at bay.

During your routine check-up appointments, your dentist will also be able to assess your unique dental and oral health needs and recommend tailored advice you can incorporate into your oral care routine. If you have questions about your or your loved ones' dental and oral health, these routine dental appointments allow you to seek the necessary answers.

While these bi-annual dental check-up appointments are enough to stay on top of your dental health, you could visit your dentist sooner if you have a dental emergency, such as:

• Knocked-out or avulsed tooth

• Persistent bleeding gums

• Severe tooth pain

• Cracked or fractured tooth

Maintain a Healthy Diet

In addition to your routine dental cleanings and regular dental checkups, maintaining a healthy diet helps you stay on top of your dental and oral health. Some foods support oral health, while others can be harmful. Examples of nutrient-rich foods that support oral health include:

• Leafy greens

• Lean meat

• Whole grains

• Vegetables

• Fish like salmon

Incorporating these foods into your daily diet can ensure your teeth remain healthy for the longest time possible. Ensure you also stock up on calcium-rich foods, like dairy products, because this mineral helps strengthen your bones and teeth. Simultaneously, you should limit your consumption of foods that contain a lot of sugary foods, like candies and toffee.

While sugary foods could be sweet to the tongue, they are a favorite food for the harmful bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease. Hence, limiting your consumption of these foods limits bacterial growth, helping prevent dental issues like cavities.

Refrain From Chewing and Smoking Tobacco-Related Products

In addition to affecting the aesthetics of your teeth and increasing your risk of cavities and gum disease, smoking and chewing tobacco products are one of the leading causes of oral cancer. If you do not fix this detrimental habit sooner, it could even increase your risk of tooth loss eventually.

Saying goodbye to tobacco-related products promotes better oral and dental health and boosts overall health. Your healthcare provider can guide you on the best treatment options for your smoking habit.

Use Dental Sealers When Necessary

If your dentist finds you at risk of cavities during your routine cleanings, he/she could recommend dental sealants. Dental sealants are thin, resin-based coatings (white or clear) that your dentist bonds into the chewing surfaces and grooves of your back teeth (premolars and molars) to protect them from cavity-causing bacteria, which feast on food that becomes trapped in them.

Using sealants is an excellent preventative dental treatment plan because they create smoother surfaces on your teeth, making them easier to clean and more resistant to decay. Teenagers and children are popular candidates for dental sealants. However, even adults could be excellent candidates for this preventative dental treatment plan if they do not have dental fillings or cavities.

Reduce Your Consumption of Teeth-Staining Drinks and Foods

Many enjoy kickstarting their days by drinking a warm tea or coffee, but these drinks may harm their oral health and dental appearance. Excessive consumption of these beverages can cause bad breath and even stain your teeth, affecting your smile aesthetics. Limiting their intake is advisable if you love to indulge in these beverages.

However, using a straw could also help lessen the contact of these drinks with your teeth whenever you indulge. Rinsing your mouth with water after indulging in these beverages could also help reduce the risk of teeth discoloration or stains.

Reduce Bleaching of the Teeth

Teeth whitening is an excellent way to keep your teeth bright for an appealing smile if you have stained or discolored teeth. However, frequent over-the-counter teeth bleaching agents could be detrimental to your dental health because the chemicals used during the process could erode your teeth's enamel. These chemicals could cause gum irritation and teeth sensitivity issues due to weakened tooth enamel.

If you want a smile makeover by whitening your teeth, you should speak with your dentist to know your options. Professional in-office teeth whitening has less impact on your dental health because your dentist understands the ideal concentration of the whitening gel to use and how long it should remain on your tooth surface.

Other Tips to Help You Stay on Top of Your Dental and Oral Health

In addition to your daily oral care practices, the following tips can help enhance your dental and oral health:

• Choose healthy snacks — Whenever you feel the urge to snack at work or home, choose healthy ones that enhance your dental health. For example, you can opt for fruits or cheese because they can help boost the secretion of saliva, which helps neutralize acidity in your mouth

• Address bruxism or teeth grinding issues — If you have teeth grinding issues, also known as bruxism, using a mouthguard at night could help protect your teeth's surface from excessive wear and tear

• Address dental problems early — You should consult your dentist promptly whenever you notice bleeding gums, teeth sensitivity, or other oral and dental issues. Having these issues checked early can help prevent them from worsening and becoming costly to treat

• Chew sugar-free chewing gum — Regularly using sugar-free chewing gum that contains xylitol can help improve saliva flow in your mouth, which helps wash away food particles and cavity-causing bacteria away

• Be consistent — Maintaining a positive attitude towards your oral and dental care routine is advisable. Being proactive and consistent with your routine dental and oral care habits can assist you in achieving excellent long-term results

• Buy an electric toothbrush — An electric toothbrush with moving or rotating bristle heads could be more effective at removing plaque from your tooth surfaces than a manual toothbrush

Generally speaking, maintaining your dental and oral health is paramount. Excellent dental and oral health helps you enjoy your favorite meals and interact more confidently with friends and people.

Find a Los Angeles Dentist Near Me

Maintaining oral health from childhood through adulthood is essential for overall well-being. Restoring your gums and teeth to optimal health whenever health issues arise could be challenging. Even if you have healthy gums and teeth, ensuring they are in their best condition is vital.

If you have more questions on how to care for your dental and oral health, our credible dentists at Los Angeles Advanced Dentistry would be glad to help. Call us at 310-361-2080 to schedule your first consultation with our reliable dentists.