Caring For Your Teeth At Home By Mary Swanson

Visiting the dentist isn’t always a top priority for many adults. Everyone has their own reasons for not enjoying your dental appointments - whether you’ve had a bad experience at the dentist, or you just don’t like being poked in the mouth. Regardless of why you don’t like going to the dentist, it’s important to regularly schedule appointments to ensure optimal oral health.

If you are waiting for your next annual visit with the dentist, there are many things you can do at home to take care of your teeth and gums.

Brush, Brush, Brush

Brushing your teeth at least twice a day is recommended for everyone, from toddlers to adults. Getting into the routine of brushing your teeth on a daily basis will not only help you have a brighter smile, but it will also prevent issues such as tooth decay or gingivitis.

When you’re brushing your teeth, be sure to get every nook and cranny inside of your mouth. This means to brush along the inside and outside of your teeth, as well as brushing your tongue. Brushing your tongue will help get rid of plaque buildup on your tongue as well as prevent bad breath. You can do this by using a toothbrush with water or putting some toothpaste or mouthwash on your brush. There are also tongue scraping products that you can purchase.

While it’s not a necessity, buying disclosing tablets can also be beneficial. These tablets are chewed up and once they have dissolved, the tablets leave color on any plaque that has been left on your teeth.

Floss

It may only be your instinct to floss when you have food between your teeth, but flossing does much more than that. Regularly flossing your teeth will help prevent any plaque from building up in between your teeth. This will also help prevent cavities and tooth decay. Most of the time, the plaque between your teeth can only be removed by the dentist or by flossing.

It’s true that flossing can sometimes be quite difficult, so it’s important to try whatever flossing techniques work for you. For example, there are many newer products that make flossing easy, with a stick that allows you to reach the back of your mouth without any stress. If you’re using regular floss, be sure to pull a piece that is long enough to wrap around your fingers so that you have a good grip on the string and can get those hard-to-reach places.

Flossing may be painful for anyone who hasn’t doesn’t floss regularly, and if your gums bleed or you’re feeling any pain, you should continue to floss.

Using Mouthwash

Mouthwash can be a great way to freshen up your breath after a long day or a cup of coffee, but it can serve a much bigger purpose if you’re using it to help promote oral health.

There are many different kinds of mouthwash products available, but to benefit the health of your teeth, you must choose a mouthwash that has beneficial ingredients and isn’t used solely for the purpose of ‘freshening your breath.’

If you can avoid products with alcohol, that is recommended, because alcohol can sometimes dry out the mouth and can be too harsh. Once you have found a mouthwash that you enjoy using, be sure to use it every day. The debate on whether or not to use the rinse before or after you brush your teeth is still prevalent, but dentists often recommend not rinsing your mouth out with water after you swish with mouthwash - so after brushing may be a better option.

Taking care of your teeth at home doesn’t have to be as hard as it sounds. Once you start taking care of your teeth at home, you may feel better about visiting the dentist every year.

About the author: Mary Swanson is a dental assistant and has worked for several cosmetic dentistry experts. She often sees patients who need dentures, crowns and other cosmetic work, mainly because they don’t take care of their teeth at home as they should. She promotes do-it-yourself teeth cleaning so that patients don’t need to have cosmetic work done on their teeth.