Dental Care Resources

1.) First, be very careful about the way in which you brush your teeth. There is right way to brush your teeth in order to both protect them from decay and avoid damaging the enamel. Firstly, you should avoid buying brushes that have hard bristles. These can actually wear away the enamel on your teeth, so make sure that you select a soft-bristled brush instead. Secondly, dentists advise that you slowly move your brush in wide circular motions.

2.) Watch your coffee intake. One reason for this is cosmetic, while the other is much more serious. The more superficial concern is that coffee drinkers often develop yellowed teeth, but of course this can be rectified with expensive whitening procedures. More importantly, coffee is acidic in a way that promotes serious levels of tooth decay over time.

3.) Take steps to break the habit of chewing your fingernails. Most people bite their nails as a response to nervousness or stress, so find a healthier outlet for your anxiety (such as breathing exercises, or going for a walk). When you put your fingers in your mouth, any bacteria on your skin are transferred onto your gums and onto the surface of your teeth. This can cause serious bacterial infections.

4.) Think twice before you decide to get a lip or tongue piercing. For one thing, having metal jewelry around and inside your mouth leads to cuts and grazes on the surface of your gums (which are then more susceptible to infection). Further, it is easy to bite down on your mouth piercing by accident, and this commonly leads to chipped or damaged teeth.

5.) If you like to drink wine, try to be diligent about brushing your teeth after you have finished. Red and white wines both contain acid that can damage your teeth, and red wine has the additionally unappealing property of dying your teeth a shade of gray or purple.

6.) If you enjoy iced drinks, do not crunch or chew the ice, as this can cause numerous dental problems. It may damage your jaw joint, crack a tooth, or cause irritation to the soft and easily damaged tissue that exists deep inside your teeth.

7.) Take action to limit the damage that can be caused by grinding your teeth. Not everyone knows that they grind their teeth, as it most often occurs during the night. However, it is a reasonably common response to stress, and it can cause extremely painful damage to your teeth and gums while you sleep. If you find out that you do grind your teeth, the main thing you should do is visit your dentist to acquire a custom-fitted mouth guard that can be worn to cover your top or bottom teeth. These mouth guards help to cushion the blows that your teeth receive when you grind them. Some people also find that hypnosis can effectively train them to stop unconsciously grinding their teeth.

8.) Do your best to snack on foods that are not too high in starch or sugar. Your saliva makes starchy foods break down into acids that can slowly damage your teeth, while sugar causes cavities. If you do eat particularly starchy or sugary foods on occasion, brush your teeth as soon as you can.

9.) If you smoke, try to quit. If you continue to smoke, you will develop brown or yellow teeth that look particularly unappealing when you smile. More significantly, you will be at a much higher risk of developing potential fatal cancers of the mouth. Smokers are also more likely to develop gum disease, and if gum disease is particularly serious then it can lead to lost teeth.

10.) Don’t give your child a bottle of milk or juice at bedtime. This can help soothe children and encourage them to sleep, but the sugar coats the child’s teeth. It will then stay in the mouth for the whole night, promoting tooth decay.

11.) Don’t give your child a bottle of milk or juice at bedtime. This can help soothe children and encourage them to sleep, but the sugar coats the child’s teeth. It will then stay in the mouth for the whole night, promoting tooth decay.

12.) Resist the temptation to use your teeth as a tool for opening things. Most people sometimes get impatient and use their teeth to rip open packages. If you do this, you run the risk of getting a cracked or chipped tooth, so it is always better to wait until you can find a pair of scissors instead.

13.) Examine the labels on fruit juices before you buy them. There are many important health benefits associated with having a high intake of fruit, but a lot of fruit juices have a lot of added sugars that are supposed to improve the way they taste. Try to pick out juices that specifically state that they have no added sugars.

14.) Minimize your intake of candy. In particular, gummy candy often sticks between your teeth, where it sometimes sits for up to several days and is likely to promote tooth decay. When you do eat chewy candy that sticks to your teeth, try to make sure that you floss and brush soon after.

15.) Protect your teeth if you play contact sports like boxing or rugby. It is vital that you buy a mouth guard from a sports store, or have a custom mouth guard made and fitted. Contact sports often result in teeth being cracked, or sometimes entirely knocked out.

16.) Think about your teeth even when you are ill. Large amounts of sugar can be found in the throat sweets that are designed to ease coughs and sore throats. As annoying as it is to get up and brush your teeth when you have a cold or a flu virus, you will be reducing your risk of forming cavities.

17.) Deal with writer’s block by taking a walk or squeezing a stress ball. All too many times, writers block can prompt you to chew on the end of your pencil or pen as you try to find the right word or idea. However, this is a fairly common cause of chipped teeth.

18.) Don’t make a habit of drinking many glasses of soda on a daily basis. Sugary sodas encourage cavities to form, and the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas are highly acidic in a way that can wear away at the surface of your teeth.

All of the above minor lifestyle changes can help you to keep beautiful and healthy teeth well your into old age. If you want to know more about any of the conditions or problems mentioned, speak to your dentist and mention that you want to be conscientious about your dental health.