Proper oral care helps you to live a healthy, long and pain-free life. To keep your teeth healthy, it's important to start setting up a proper mouth care routine early and stick to it throughout your life. To do this, you need to practice good oral hygiene, eat a healthy diet, and support these habits with professional care when needed.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Taking Care of Your Teeth
Step 1. Brush your teeth every morning and every night
Remember to wash them for at least two minutes; this is the time needed to clean all dental surfaces, without neglecting the posterior areas.
- Teach your children good oral hygiene habits by starting brushing their teeth as soon as the first one comes up. Caries in milk teeth are just as unpleasant as those in permanent teeth.
- For best results, use a soft-bristled or electric toothbrush. Whichever model you decide to use, be sure to replace it every three months. If you are concerned that your toothbrush may be damaged before this time has elapsed, check the condition of the bristles: if they are bent and damaged, consider replacing it.
- By brushing your teeth regularly, you will not only keep them healthy and pain free, but also ensure fresh breath. However, avoid brushing them immediately after eating: after meals, in fact, the mouth is more acidic and the enamel is temporarily softer. Wait at least half an hour before cleaning them.
Step 2. Use a fluoride toothpaste
Fluoride protects enamel and reduces the risk of tooth decay. To be effective, however, its concentration must be adequate; check that your toothpaste contains at least 1350-1500 ppm.
- If the toothpaste contains less than 1000ppm of fluoride, it's not strong enough to protect your teeth.
- Even children can use powerful toothpaste, as long as an adult is present to make sure they spit it out after cleaning their teeth.
Step 3. Floss every day
The floss cleans the surfaces between teeth. This is important as the toothbrush cannot reach these spaces. As a result, food, plaque and bacteria can build up if you don't use the floss.
- Take 30 cm of floss or a pipe cleaner, insert it into the space between the teeth and fold it around a tooth; then pull it up and down along the side of the tooth, then fold it around the adjacent tooth.
- Be gentle as you reach the gum line. If you are using the floss for the first time, the gums may bleed, but after a few days it will not happen again.
Step 4. Use a mouthwash
Look for one with fluoride. If you use this product after brushing and flossing, you allow fluoride to reach the enamel of all tooth surfaces. Rinse with the solution for a couple of minutes and let it cover all parts of your teeth.
- If you wish, you can also make a home remedy using a saline solution. Put half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water and stir the mixture to dissolve the salt.
- Do not ingest mouthwash, as it could cause stomach damage. If you want to get rid of the bacteria in the back of your throat, you can gargle quickly before spitting out the solution.
Step 5. Brush or scratch your tongue
The surface of the tongue is not smooth, which means that bacteria and some food residues can get trapped in its crevices and cavities; therefore, even the tongue can be a receptacle for germs which are then transferred to the teeth.
- You can brush it gently or use a special "tongue cleaner" scraper. Some toothbrushes have a hard, rubbery part on their base that can be used for just this purpose.
- Rub your tongue carefully so as not to hurt it - you don't have to hurt yourself. When finished, rinse your mouth to get rid of all food residues and bacteria.
Step 6. Don't smoke
Smoking causes your teeth to yellow, leaves you with bad breath, and increases the risk of gum problems as well as mouth cancer. If you need help quitting, there are many resources available. For example, you can:
- Get support from friends, family, or support groups;
- Avoid situations where you usually smoke;
- Call a friendly phone when you feel the urge to smoke
- Talk to your doctor or a specific addiction counselor;
- Try nicotine replacement therapies
- Go to a detox center where you can undergo the most suitable treatments.
Part 2 of 3: Protect Your Teeth with a Healthy Diet
Step 1. Reduce your sugar intake
Sugar corrodes tooth enamel because, when it breaks down, it produces acids that attack it. This increases the chances of tooth decay and other dental problems. Among the foods you need to avoid are:
- Sugary drinks. Limit the amount of juice you drink to one glass per day;
- Sweets, such as pastries, cakes, ice cream and candy
- Too sugary tea or coffee.
Step 2. Eat fewer sticky foods
These products leave a thin layer of sugar on the teeth which is difficult to remove and increases the risk of tooth decay. You should avoid eating:
- Gummy candies;
- Cereal bars;
- MOU candy;
- Dried fruits such as raisins
- Sweetened chewing gums. Sugar-free ones, on the other hand, are great for stimulating saliva production and facilitating the removal of the last small particles of food trapped between the teeth.
Step 3. Clean your teeth thanks to the friction caused by chewing a crunchy fruit or vegetable
This is especially effective at the end of a meal or a healthy snack between meals. Consider eating more of:
- Apples;
- Broccoli;
- Peppers;
- Carrots;
- Lettuce;
- Cucumbers
- Celery.
Step 4. Cut down on alcohol consumption
Alcohol damages the tooth enamel and stimulates the formation of tooth decay. If you need help quitting drinking, there are a number of resources you can turn to. You can:
- Find support from friends, family, or a support group, such as Alcoholics Anonymous
- Contact your doctor for prescription medications;
- Contact a psychologist;
- Go to a detox center and get hospitalized.
Part 3 of 3: Getting Professional Dental Care
Step 1. Go to the dentist if a problem develops
You don't have to wait for the pain to become unmanageable. If you do not have private insurance that covers dental care, you can contact the health facilities or look for centers affiliated with the ASL to save a little. You can understand that an oral examination is necessary when you have the following symptoms:
- Ache;
- Permanent teeth swing;
- The gums are red, swollen, or painful
- The jaw is swollen;
- You have bad breath or a strange taste in your mouth that doesn't go away
- Sensitivity to food temperature.
Step 2. Get your teeth cleaned
For better long-term results, you should have your teeth examined and cleaned twice a year. This involves:
- A visual inspection looking for caries;
- A series of instructions on brushing techniques and using dental floss;
- Thorough cleaning of the surfaces of each tooth;
- Scraping of hard plaque that has built up.
Step 3. Undergo protective treatments
These solutions allow you to have stronger teeth and less prone to cavities or problems. Many people, both adults and children, have their teeth sealed or painted with fluoride.
- Cracks are small irregularities on the chewing surface of the teeth. The treatment involves covering these areas with a thin plastic coating to prevent cavities from forming. The procedure is performed on permanent teeth and is effective for a decade.
- Fluorine varnish is a concentrated solution that strengthens tooth enamel. The treatment can be done twice a year on both milk and permanent teeth.
