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Proper Oral Care Will Help You Keep Your Teeth Healthy

By: Kimsharm mcdow

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Teeth are very strong and will be there forever if you consistently perform proper dental hygiene. What constitutes excellent dental hygiene is seeing a dentist twice each year, and having your gums, teeth, and tongue cleaned correctly. The maintenance you provide your teeth at home can help prevent cavities and keep your gums from becoming diseased.

Cavities, another name for decay, is the result of bacteria that is in plaque. Plaque is a substance that clings to the teeth. This coating naturally forms due to the mixture of bacteria which lives inside your mouth along with bits of food as well as your saliva. When you eat or drink starchy or sugary foods, the bacteria in plaque produce acids that dissolve tooth enamel, the hard outer coating on teeth.

Enamel can actually break down after too much exposure to plaque, and allow cavities to form. Additionally, an accumulation of plaque is what provokes the onset of gum disease. Where one tooth touches another, plaque can toughen and turn into tartar at the base of the tooth if it is not eliminated by a good cleansing. If the gums start to swell or bleed when they are brushed, it is a symptom of gingivitis, which is an early form of periodontal disease.

Gingivitis can progress to Periodontitis, in which gums pull away from teeth and form pockets that often become infected. Periodontitis not only affects the teeth and gums, but also the jawbone and surrounding tissues so that teeth are prone to falling out.

Proper personal dental hygiene along with consistent cleanings at a dentist's office will keep plaque in check. The best way to brush your teeth is by keeping the toothbrush at a bit of angle to your teeth and using small back-and-forth motions as your brush. Brush the outside, inside and chewing surfaces of your teeth, spending about two minutes in all, than gently brush your tongue. The idea is to get rid of bacteria while freshening your breath at the same time. In a perfect world, you would brush after every meal, however brushing two times a day will usually suffice.

When picking out a toothbrush, stick to the soft-bristle brushes. As the bristles become weak around every 3-4 months, you should get a new tooth brush. A lot of people believe the key to good dental health is an electric toothbrush. While electric toothbrushes do a fine job, the only way to get the job done thoroughly is to brush on a regular basis, and use floss or another device to get into the spaces between the teeth.

Here is what the professionals suggest to do to make the most out of flossing. Your first step is easing a strand of floss between two of your teeth. Move the floss in an up and down motion, making sure the floss gets around the tooth where the gums meet it. Change the area of floss that you use for each space, and do not forget to floss around your back teeth.

You may find that waxed floss will slide easier. Seek further help or the use of a floss holder if you are having problems. People who are just starting to floss might notice some bleeding or gum discomfort at first. If it doesn't go away, they need to call their dentist. You also need to think about what you eat along with flossing and brushing. Keep in mind the food and drinks that you consume in your daily diet, as sugary items increase the risk of cavities developing. But, there are a few foods that can help you avoid cavities. Eating aged cheese immediately after other foods can neutralize enamel-damaging acid.

Fruits that are crisp and watery, like Granny Smiths, thin out sugar and encourage mucous, moving out bits of edible materials from the teeth. Sugarless gum will also make you produce more saliva, washing the bacteria away. Dairy products and veggies that are full of calcium, or supplemental calcium pills will keep your teeth healthy and strong. Fluoride also helps prevent tooth decay.

If you know the water in your area isn't fluoridated, you might talk to your dentist about applying a fluoride solution to your teeth or whether you should use a fluoride rinse. Dentists advise a check up and cleaning every 6 months to keep your teeth at their best. Aside from those routine visits, contact your dentist if you experience bleeding gums, mouth pain or if you notice alterations in your bite. Through use of proper dental hygiene along with twice a year check ups, your health can last you a lifetime.

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