The following dental-care tips, recommended by many leading dentists, will help you keep your teeth and gums healthy and avoid tooth loss:
Get regular exercise — Just as exercise helps you stay healthy in other ways, regular exercise also may lower your risk of gum disease.
Brush with power — Use a high-quality electric toothbrush with a small head. Electric brushes clean your teeth more thoroughly than regular toothbrushes and are optimized to remove plaque.
Practice deep cleaning — Use floss for more efficient cleaning between teeth and along the gum line. If your gums recede, which often happens as people age, try using interproximal brushes. These brushes look like small pipe cleaners and may work better than floss to remove plaque from partially exposed roots.
Brush at the right time — Wait 30 minutes to an hour after eating before you brush. It takes that long for saliva to neutralize the acids in food. Brushing right after you eat can wear away essential tooth enamel.
Drink tap water — Many brands of bottled water do not contain fluoride, a powerful cavity-prevention chemical that is added to public drinking water. Rather than drink bottled water, consider filtering your tap water, which will remove impurities and harmful chemicals but leave the fluoride.
Stay moist — Saliva removes microbes from your teeth and gums. If you suffer from dry mouth, ask your dentist to prescribe a special rinse than can help.
Get regular checkups — Schedule regular appointments with your dentist for routine dental care, such as teeth cleaning and examinations to check for early signs of tooth decay and gum disease.
2024© The Courtyard Clinic
