Your teeth need special care to stay healthy. Thankfully, caring for your teeth is not difficult and does not require extensive time. There are several things that you can do that will improve the health of your teeth and help you keep a beautiful smile.
Brush And Floss
You need to brush your teeth twice a day and floss them at least once a day. Use a fluoride toothpaste, but do not use too much. A good brushing only requires a small amount of toothpaste equal to the size of a pea.
Make sure that you consume enough dairy products for the calcium benefit. Calcium helps keep your teeth strong as well as your other bones. Cheese, yogurt, and milk are all great sources of this nutrient.
Chew Sugarless Gum
If you eat a meal or a snack and do not have the ability to rinse out your mouth or brush your teeth, chew a piece of sugarless gum. The gum will help move any food particles that remain away from your teeth and hep reduce bacteria buildup.
Do Not Chew Ice
Chewing ice and hard candy can lead to cracked or broken teeth. This is a hard habit to break, but it can be accomplished. It is also important that when you eat hard candy that you rinse your mouth out. Bacteria lives sugar and this is what leads to tooth decay.
Watch Out For Acids
Citrus contains high levels of acid in it and can cause harm to the enamel of your teeth. This is also true in some similar fruits, including grapes. When you consume fruit or citrus, you should rinse out your mouth to reduce the amount of contact the acids have with your teeth.
Beer, Wine, And Alcohol
All alcoholic beverages can be harmful too your teeth. Most of these have high contents of sugar, even if they are not considered sweet. Sugar and other carbohydrate filled products are used in the brewing and fermenting process. These sugars will feed the bacteria in your mouth. In addition, some wines have a very high acid content because of the type of grapes used to make the product. Any time you consume alcohol, you need to rinse your mouth.
Coffee And Teas
Coffee and tea can stain the enamel of your teeth. This is also true with some sodas. These stains can penetrate below the surface if the enamel is weak and induce decay. Rinsing out after a cup, or chewing sugarless gum, can help reduce the staining and potential tooth decay.
Protect Your Teeth During Sports
Using a mouth guard can help eliminate damage caused to your teeth when you are participating in sports. If sporting good store guards are too uncomfortable to wear, have a custom guard made by your dentist.
Avoid Smoking And Tobacco Products
Smoking and smokeless tobacco products can lead to staining of the teeth, tooth decay, and gum and throat cancer. There is no good side effects to using tobacco products.
Have Routine Dental Care
It is very important that you regularly visit the dentist for routine care. Routine dental care will help eliminate many teeth related problems and provides you with cancer screenings. Regular dental care will also include teeth cleaning which is always beneficial to having a bright smile.