At-Home Preventative Care
A major part of keeping your teeth healthy is taking good care of them in between your dental visits. Achieving good oral health is easy when you set aside time each day for maintenance. Just like maintaining your physical fitness, oral health takes consistency. Consistently flossing, brushing and having healthy habits is the best approach to good oral health.
Brushing teeth and Gums
Brushing your teeth and gums twice a day is the minimum for proper oral health. Better yet, if you can brush 30-60 minutes after each meal you can remove plaque early on. To get started, dispense a small amount of toothpaste on a soft bristle toothbrush. Use small circular motions and avoid using too much pressure. Too much pressure can be damaging to the gums. After brushing in small circular motions on the front and back of the teeth, you will want to lightly brush your tongue and follow with a rinse of mouthwash.
Daily Flossing
For your best oral health, it is recommended that you floss your teeth once a day. Flossing once a day, helps to remove any build up food and plaque between the teeth that brushing could not get to. Once plaque has been in between the teeth too long without being removed, it can harden into tartar. Once tartar has formed, it then has to be removed by either Dr. Khan or a hygienist. For flossing, take a piece of floss that is approximately 18” and wrap around the middle fingers of each hand. Once the floss is wrapped securely, make sure there is a 1-inch section open for flossing. Using your pointer fingers, you can carefully push the floss in between your teeth.
Good diet
It may seem like eating right and oral health are not closely related other than curbing your sweet tooth, but a balanced diet is vital to clean and healthy teeth. In addition to sugar, starches can also be harmful to the mouth. Sugars and starches produce the most harmful acids in the mouth when you eat too much of them. The longer these foods stay in contact with the teeth, the more damage they can do. Since many people only brush in the morning and at night after meals, most damage occurs from snacking.
Regular Dental Visits
For healthy teeth, it is recommended that you and the whole family make it in to see Dr. Khan every 6-12 months. Regular dental visits can help Dr. Khan check on you and your family’s dental health and hygiene. With regular visits, you and your loved ones can avoid expensive procedures to fix overlooked conditions. Our blog provides more information on how often you should get your teeth cleaned.
If it’s time you came in for a cleaning, call IKON Dental Group today and schedule an appointment with Dr. Khan.