A Month for Your Mouth, Teeth and Gums!

October marks yet another celebration of National Dental Hygiene Month, which is quite ironic since it’s followed by Halloween and Christmas – two occasions where dental hygiene suffers the most, especially those with kids.

With that in mind, here are a few reminders about taking care of those pretty, little pearly whites of yours (and, of your kids!)

• Brush for two minutes, for at least two times a day. Many people brush their teeth, but not all brush theirs long enough. When cleaning your teeth, you don’t need to time it exactly for two minutes, but you do want to make sure that you reach every part of your mouth. This includes your tongue, as well as the roof of your mouth.

• Floss every day. If you want to keep your mouth clean, you have to make sure that you clean every part of it and brushing alone can’t do that. This is where flossing comes in as it helps remove all the particles that may be stuck between your teeth, as well as the others that your brush can’t reach. Make this a habit and your chances of getting any kind of periodontal or gum disease will go down dramatically.

• Chew gum. If you’re always on the go, you surely can’t always excuse yourself from the dinner table just to brush your teeth. In these cases, you can always count on a sugar-free chewing gum to do the trick. The gum helps stimulate the production of saliva, which is your body’s natural defense (and so far, the best) against tooth decay. It being sugar-free also means that it shouldn’t do any more harm than good.

• Mouthwash or no mouthwash, it’s important to rinse your mouth at least once a day. The latter, though, is preferred, especially if you use a mouthwash that contains fluoride.

Take note of these reminders at all times and if you have kids, teach them to do the same as well. Building such habits at a very young age is crucial to making sure that they know how to take care of their teeth growing up.

A healthy set of pearly whites contribute to a much better overall health, after all.

Save from these four little reminders though, you also shouldn’t forget your bi-annual oral exam with your dentist. Such regular checkups and cleaning are crucial when it comes to your oral and even, overall health. The main reason being is that there have been recent studies showing a link between bacterial infections of the mouth traveling and spreading throughout the whole body, leading to other, much more severe, complications.

When it comes to oral disease, prevention is always better than cure and prevention is the key to keeping your mouth as healthy as possible.

By visiting your dentist regularly, you not only have your teeth checked and cleaned. You are also kept informed and taught of the many new techniques as well products that may help prevent you from having to deal with periodontal problems in the future!

Call for an appointment today with Creative Dimensions in Dentistry at our Castro Valley Office 510-881-8010 or our San Leandro office 510-895-1776.