Brushing your teeth and flossing are essential for a healthy smile, and proper oral hygiene can prevent cognitive decline! But, a lot more goes into maintaining great oral health.
How do you achieve a healthy smile, though? Of course, you’ll need to brush and floss daily. But, there are other things that are also required.
If you’re interested in learning about how to improve your oral health and get a vibrant smile that you’ll love, consider the following tips.
Oral Hygiene is a Priority
While shiny white teeth are appealing, the truth is that oral hygiene is more about preventing illnesses and decay. Taking care of your teeth starts with you.
You should brush and floss at least twice per day. These keep out food particles and debris that provide nutrients for harmful bacteria. Do so in the morning and about half an hour before going to bed.
Seek Dental Services Frequently
You can’t achieve optimal oral health on your own, though. You’ll have to find a dentist and visit them frequently. Checkups can save you from a lot of frustration in the long term.
For example, you might have teeth that aren’t making proper contact with their opposite teeth on the other arc. This is something that a dentist might notice, but you might not. In that case, they’ll refer you to an orthodontist, or you can start looking for an orthodontist on your own.
It’s worth mentioning that crooked teeth aren’t just an aesthetic problem. They can lead to serious afflictions if they’re not treated properly. So, braces or Invisalign can do a lot more than just straighten your teeth.
Watch Your Diet
Finally, your diet can have a major impact on your oral health. Dental products can only do so much. Coffee, berries, chocolate, tomato sauce, and wine, are only a few culprits that can leave stains on your teeth over time.
Highly acidic foods, like soda with sugar, can also cause decay and slowly degrade the outer layer of your teeth. When enamel starts to wear away, you can get pulpitis and extremely sensitive teeth. Consider limiting the intake of foods that cause damage to your teeth.
There’s also the issue with sugar on its own. It’s considered one of the primary causes of caries. Untreated caries can quickly eat up a tooth, and lead to a visit to the dentist for a root canal. And, of course, you might eventually need to remove a tooth and replace it with an implant and crown, or bridge.
Achieving a Healthy Smile
Most consider a healthy smile an appealing feature to have. It’s more important, though, to maintain a high level of oral health. It’s usually much better to give up some aesthetic appeal for a healthy and functional mouth. Not to mention, avoiding braces or Invisalign out of convenience can lead to serious problems with your jaw!
Hopefully, this article provided you with some useful information on how to maintain good levels of oral hygiene and even motivated you to start taking good care of your teeth. If it did, consider taking a look at some of the other posts on the site!
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
