When many people think of looking after their oral health, they could solely envision brushing their teeth. There’s much more to it than that, however, as brushing alone might not be enough to protect yourself from gum disease. Figuring out how to look after your oral health offers a host of benefits, including:
- Preventing gum disease and tooth decay
- Removing and preventing stains
- Making your breath smell nicer
Looking after your teeth will also have an impact on your appearance. Once your teeth look nice, you can feel more confident about your smile and overall appearance. Using a few oral care strategies is recommended to achieve this.
Visit the Dentist Regularly
As obvious as this is, seeing the dentist regularly is the easiest way to look after your oral health. Doing so will ensure that, should any issues develop, they’re caught early and shouldn’t impact your health.
You are seeing the dentist at least once every six months is recommended. If you have any oral issues, see the dentist as soon as possible. For example, a braces doctor can be recommended if you want to straighten your teeth.
By taking this approach, you can rest assured that your oral health is in good hands. In addition, your dentist can also give you more specific advice about looking after your oral health.
Use Fluoride
Fluoride is a common ingredient in toothpaste and mouthwash and is known to help prevent cavities. Quite a few people avoid fluoride and its products, however, as they believe it’s harmful. It isn’t.
Evidence suggests that not using fluoride results in tooth decay, regardless of what other oral care maintenance you put into it. Make sure the toothpaste and mouthwash contain fluoride to prevent cavities and other common mouth-related issues.
You wouldn’t need to go out of your way to accomplish this.
Quit Smoking
Smoking damages the body in multiple ways, many of which people don’t tend to know about. One of the more notable is that it makes it difficult for the body to heal tissues, even those in the mouth. As a result, smoking increases your risk of developing gum disease.
If you have a dental procedure, it could take your mouth longer to heal afterward. It might even heal incorrectly. Then there are the less severe effects of smoking on your mouth, such as making your breath smell bad and turning them yellow.
The longer you smoke, the worse these get. However, once you quit smoking, you should see much of the damage come undone, provided you care for your teeth.
Limit Your Sugar Intake
Studies continue to show the link between sugar and cavities, alongside other health concerns. While everyone knows this, people continue to suffer from cavities and similar issues yearly. The main culprits behind this are candy and desserts, but processed foods can also have a lot of sugar.
Limiting your sugar intake can be a recommended way to prevent this. The World Health Organization, for instance, recommends limiting your daily sugar intake to less than 10% of your overall food intake. It could also be worth going lower to ensure the sugar doesn’t impact your oral health.
Starchy foods can have a similar impact on your teeth, making it worth limiting them.
Drink Water
Speaking of sugar, one of the primary ways people consume this is through sugary drinks. Cutting these out of your diet can be recommended, especially considering the many other health benefits it can offer. If you decide to take this approach, replacing it with water is more than worth it.
Keeping hydrated is a vital part of looking after your health, making switching sugary drinks for water one of the better general health tips you can follow. You’ll decrease the risk of cavities, improve your heart health, and lose weight.
The increase in water consumption could also make your skin look more apparent, so there’s no reason not to take advantage of this strategy.
Look After Your Oral Health: Wrapping Up
You’ll see multiple benefits once you know how to look after your oral health. Over time, your teeth can become stained and start looking unappealing. You could also develop gum disease and similar ailments.
You can prevent all of this by properly looking after your teeth and mouth. You can ensure that’s the case with each of the above strategies.
