How to Look after Your Teeth

by Richard Siggers Dental Help and Advice

Okay, so looking after your teeth is important right? Well, you would think so but there are so many people don't seem to pay any attention to their teeth and end up paying the consequences many years down the line.

Looking after your teeth is actually very simple and follows 2 convenient and easy to remember actions:

A good oral hygiene routine
a good diet

Simple, huh?

Let's look at each in turn.

But good oral hygiene routine.

Sticking to a good oral hygiene routine is relatively straightforward is, here's what you need to do:

Brush teeth 2 min twice per day
each time you brush (for adult) uses a pea sized amount of fluoride containing toothpaste.
Hold the brush at a 45° angle to your gum line.
Brush top left for 30 seconds, top right for 30 seconds, bottom left for 30 seconds, bottom right for 30 seconds.
Clean in between your teeth at least once per day with interdental brushes or interdental floss.
ONLY use of fluoride containing mouthwash in between brushes and never after (mouthwash contains less fluoride than toothpaste so if you rinse with mouthwash after brushing then you will be rinsing away active fluoride from the surface of your teeth)

On top of your good oral hygiene routine you also need to visit a dentist. A dentist can check for the early signs of gum disease, check your oral hygiene routine and undertake any remedial action should any be discovered.

Good diet.

As far as your teeth are concerned a good diet is one that is relatively low in sugar. Don't just think about added sugar, think about inherent sugar within the item you are eating.

Processed foods typically have far more sugar than other food types said cutting down on processed foods can also help keep sugar under control.

Why is sugar such a problem?

Sugar feeds the bacteria in your mouth and it is this bacteria which excrete acid as they digests the sugar. The more sugar you have in your diet the more acid is excreted and therefore the more acid there is attacking the surface of your teeth.

This acid attack is what causes decay!

A few extra things.

Just remember, don't go using your teeth for things they are not designed for… Bad habits can really destroy your teeth.