9 Tips to Improve Your Teeth and Gums

Maintaining your gums and teeth doesn’t have to be as complicated or as dreadful as you may think. Making minor improvements can go a long way towards helping you eliminate cavities and gum disease.

Attaining good oral health is much like having good overall health. It comes down to being intentional about doing a few good things for your body each day and choosing to avoid a few harmful things for your body each day.

Studies have shown that committing a few minutes each day to implement these nine tips can tremendously help your teeth and gum tissue. Will you take the time to improve your oral health?

1. Clean Between Your Teeth

The American Dental Association took a survey that revealed that about 50% of adults brush daily. Based on findings in our dental office, I think dental professionals would guess a much lower percentage based on what our patients report. Either way, if 50% percent more adults would join the flossing wagon, imagine how that could improve interproximal decay and gum inflammation.

Not crazy about wrapping floss around your fingers? That’s okay! Remember, there are several tools available that can help you reach the areas in between your teeth. Check for these great items at your local pharmacies or grocery stores:

• Proxybrush
• Interdental brushes
• Floss holders

2. Brush With Fluoride Toothpaste

Reducing your risk of cavities can be as simple as switching out the toothpaste that you are using. Selecting a toothpaste with fluoride can help to strengthen your teeth and reduce your risk of developing cavities.

Brush your teeth with it twice a day for the recommended two minutes, and then spit out the toothpaste. It is not a good idea to swallow the fluoride toothpaste as this can lead to stomach aches and fluorosis or staining of the teeth.

3. Drink Lots Of Water

For most people, drinking water doesn’t take a lot of time. It usually involves being intentional and, at times, skipping the pop, juice, or coffee. Not that you can’t drink other things at all, but sometimes you will have to decide to drink water or else you won’t get your quota for the day.

Water does so much for our bodies, such as lubrication and filtering toxins. Water also does a lot for our teeth and gum tissue. Water helps to flush out food and bacteria, and it also helps to lubricate our teeth and gum tissue!

4. Limit Sugary And Sticky Foods

Have you ever enjoyed a pack of fruit snacks only to find yourself still digging them from the deep grooves of your teeth like 12 hours later? Or perhaps you’ve enjoyed some yummy caramel corn but days later were finding lost popcorn skins stuck in the pockets around your teeth?

Eating fruits and vegetables seems to wash off our teeth better than most sugary and sticky foods. Being mindful of the foods that you eat day after day can make a big difference! You can probably tell which foods have more of a cleansing factor to them.

5. Avoid Cigarettes And Tobacco Products

Did you know that many tobacco products contain sugar? Not only do they act to dry out your mouth, but the sugars in them can also contribute to cavities. It’s like a double whammy for wreaking havoc in your mouth!

Tobacco products also reduce blood flow to your gum tissue which means less oxygen is going to your tissues. This can significantly increase your chance of developing gum disease, but it is also a concern because less oxygen makes it much harder to health from the disease.

6. Rinse With Mouth Rinse

Mouth rinses come in many different flavors, colors, and uses. You might have noticed that some mouth rinses are geared towards fighting gum disease while others are geared towards your teeth and fighting off decay.

There is no best mouth rinse out there because it comes down to what you need a mouth rinse for and personal preference on flavors. Some common ones that you may see in your local stores are:

• Listerine
• ProHealth
• Biotene for dry mouth
• Fluoride rinses

7. Use An Electric Toothbrush

There is no doubt that the electric toothbrush is an excellent investment for your oral health. Cleaner teeth, fresher breath, and healthier gum tissue make it an easy win for most patients. The electric toothbrush is known for its more effective plaque removal, and it takes all the guesswork out of brushing.

As a bonus, those who use electric toothbrushes often notice that their hygienist does way less scraping at their check-ups too!

Selecting the right electric toothbrush for you may feel a little overwhelming at first, but remember that they all work the same. They all have a highly engineered head with mechanical motions to best remove plaque in your mouth. Outside of that, there are few differences in the features of each brush, which doesn’t affect the brushing mechanisms of the brush.

8. Visit Your Dentist On A Routine Basis

Routine cleanings and exams are some of the best things that you can do to keep your dental problems small or even non-existent at all. Your hygienist can remove the bacteria and tartar that you miss while brushing and flossing, and your dentist can catch any signs of early disease in the gum tissue or your teeth.

9. Eat Healthily

Just like your body needs nutrients to operate at its best, so do your teeth and gum tissue! Eating a well-balanced diet will supply your teeth with phosphate, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D for strong teeth. Keeping your body healthy by eating healthy will also help your immune system fight off diseases that may threaten your mouth.

Has it been a while since you have seen us? Call today or click here to schedule your next routine check-up! Hopefully, you can see how incorporating a few of these healthy, simple habits into your day can help to keep your teeth and gum tissue healthy for years to come.