Oral Health should not be ignored. Your mouth is a prime gateway to your body, and keeping it clean and healthy can help prevent various diseases. Here’s a comprehensive guide on oral health.
The Basics
- Brush at least twice a day, especially after eating breakfast and before bedtime.
- Floss every day.
- Limit the number of times you eat snacks each day.
- Visit your dentist regularly.
Brushing Technique
- Place the toothbrush at a 45° angle along the gum line. Move the toothbrush back and forth, and repeat for each tooth.
- Brush the inside surface of each tooth, using the same back and forth technique.
- Brush the top of each tooth.
- Use tip of the brush behind each tooth — front and back, top and bottom and up and down strokes.
- Be sure to brush your tongue to remove odor-causing bacteria.
Flossing Technique
- Pull 18 to 24 inches of dental floss from the dispenser.
- Wrap the ends of the floss around your index and middle fingers.
- Hold the floss tightly around each tooth in a C shape; move the floss back and forth in a push-pull motion and up and down against the side of each tooth.
Monitor your food and beverage intake
- Harmful germs and bacteria feed on sugar. By reducing your sugar intake, you can deduct the quantity of bacteria in your mouth. Restrict your sugar intake to mealtimes and do not brush immediately after.
- Be careful while consuming acidic foods and drinks. Acid strips tooth enamel of its minerals. Over time, enamel damage leaves the teeth unprotected against cavity-causing bacteria.
- Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to irritations of the tissues inside the mouth, including the tongue and slower healing and poor healing after dental surgery.
- Smoking also has harmful effects on your teeth. When you smoke, you interfere with the normal function of gum tissue cells and affect the attachment of bone and soft tissue to your teeth. This leaves you more susceptible to infections and impairs blood flow to the gums.
Regular dental check-ups
- The body naturally builds up plaque and calculus and if not removed, it embeds underneath the gum tissues and discreetly causes periodontal disease.
- Cavities can cause suffering and swelling, and in extreme cases, also the loss of a tooth. Regular checkups with your dentist will allow you to catch cavities before they turn into big problems.
- There is a strong correlation between gum disease and heart disease. Sugar and starch on the teeth produces large amounts of bacteria that end up in the blood stream. While bacteria normally exists in the mouth, gum disease increases the level of bacteria dramatically and it gets carried through the blood and can end up lodged in the heart and clog blood vessels.
Take a moment to think about your oral health. It’s something you should definitely not overlook. Developing and maintaining good oral health and hygiene is not time-consuming or difficult and it can lead to so many worthwhile benefits for the mouth and our overall wellbeing.
To keep your mouth healthy and your smile beautiful, visit our Dental Surgery Team for all oral and dental problems.
www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/dentalsurgery.html
