Oral hygiene incorporates many of the things we do on a day to day basis. These are such things as brushing our teeth, flossing, and using mouth wash. Most of us however do not recognise how important these things are for our overall health and think of them only as a way to keep our teeth clean and our breath smelling good. In reality, what causes us to have bad breath or sometimes to have bad teeth, is bacteria, and this bacteria can have any number of effects on the rest of our health. It might surprise you to learn, for example, that the number of times you floss, has been directly correlated to the development of cancer or stroke. This all makes it highly important to care for your oral hygiene.
Oral hygiene and personal health
Many people reading this may be confused as to how brushing your teeth and flossing could have any connection to cancer or strokes. The reason for this however is largely to do with your immune system, and if you have bacteria in your mouth then your immune system will be constantly battling it to prevent it from affecting the rest of your health. If it's doing this, then that elevates your blood pressure allows other viruses more of a window of opportunity to attack you. The mouth is the number on place where this is a problem, both because it is a warm and moist environment perfect for the spread of bacteria, and because it offers a direct passage to your stomach through which bacteria and germs can pass through into the blood. This then means that should you have the wrong bacteria in your mouth, it can easily travel into your stomach and result in a full blown illness. Another reason that the mouth is a particularly vulnerable area is also because of the range of things we put in there. For example we chew our fingers after touching things, we wipe our mouths and we eat food that is perhaps no longer that good for us.
At the same time good oral hygiene is important for other people's health and it shouldn't just be ourselves we're concerned about. This is true because when we cough or sneeze, we broadcast the bacteria and germs in our mouths around everyone else. While you should always keep your hand in front of your mouth, it's better to avoid having too much bacteria in their in the first place. And perhaps more importantly it should be good for when you are kissing your loved ones and particularly romantic partners.
Finally good oral hygiene is of course just good for your teeth and your breath, and these are not only aesthetic and important from a social point of view, but also important in order to ensure that you are don't suffer pain and that you can easily break your food down for consumption.
How to maintain good oral hygiene
Fortunately keeping on top of oral hygiene is something which is relatively easy and simple to do. First of all, you should be sure to drink lots of water. This will help your mouth to produce saliva, which is a natural disinfectant, and will also help you to literally wash out the inside of your mouth. Likewise you should of course be careful not to put things in your mouth that are likely to cause the spread of bacteria.
Brushing your teeth is also highly important of course and this will help you to scrape away bacteria as well as plaque, both of which will also be helped by the toothpaste. It makes most sense to brush after meals, but most people will only brush after their first and second meal for practicalities sake. Make sure whatever else you do, that you are certain to brush before or after breakfast – the reason being that we don't produce as much saliva in the night and that this can lead to the build up of bacteria. This is also why we often have bad breath first thing in the morning. Finally will help to clean in those difficult areas where a toothbrush can't reach, and as it's small enough to be carried around you can do this after every meal. However just doing it after every couple will of course be better than not doing it at all.