Keeping your teeth beautiful and white doesn’t come without effort. Without proper care, your teeth can eventually succumb to decay, gum disease, and even tooth loss.
Your teeth were exquisitely designed by nature to last you for life. Not only do they make your smile unique and attractive, but they also help to keep your facial structure intact, play a crucial role in chewing food, and help you to feel confident about your appearance.
How can you take excellent care of your teeth to ensure your next checkup at our Asheville dental practice reveals only good things? You and your children can have healthy white teeth by brushing, flossing, and avoiding certain foods.
Brushing
Brushing removes plaque, food particles, and helps to keep a balance of good and bad bacteria in your mouth. Brushing plays a crucial role in preventing tooth decay, removing surface stains, and keeping your teeth looking great as well as healthy.
Follow our trips for proper brushing, and teach your kids early on that brushing is vital for their oral health!
- Get a quality toothbrush. A quality toothbrush should be one that soft bristles. Hard bristles can damage teeth and gums. For kids, choose brushes with small heads yet a large handle, which are easier for them to grab.
- Brush gently. Brushing properly does not mean brushing hard. Hard brushing is very damaging to your teeth and gums and can cause your enamel to erode over time, and can even be a contributing factor in gum recession. You don’t need to brush hard to remove stains and plaque gentle brushing is effective in itself!
- Get a quality toothpaste. Toothpaste with fluoride can help to strengthen your enamel and prevent decay. Talk with your dentist in Asheville, Dr. Saunders, about which toothpaste you use and which ones he’d recommend!
Flossing
Flossing goes hand-in-hand with brushing when it comes to keeping teeth clean, healthy, and preventing dental problems. Although toothbrushes do a good job at keeping your teeth clean, the fact is that they simply can’t reach in between teeth or help remove food particles that could be setting you up for bacteria, plaque, and decay.
Flossing helps to clean all those little spaces a toothbrush misses. Follow our tips for flossing and teach your kids how to floss as soon as they’re able!
- Do it regularly. We advise that you floss at least once a day. If you haven’t flossed in a while, your gums may be sore after a proper flossing. Another reason to do it regularly!
- Use the proper amount of floss. Eighteen inches is the recommended length of floss to use every time you floss your teeth. By wrapping the ends of floss around your middle or pointer fingers, you can use clean sections of the floss as you go in and out of your teeth.
- Rinse afterwards. This is an excellent time to use mouthwash after you’ve brushed and flossed, food particles or bacteria can remain in your mouth. Rinse with mouthwash to effectively finish off your clean smile!
Eating Beneficial Foods and What to Avoid
Diet can be responsible for many of our conventional health problems, and it’s one of the big reasons why we’re seeing tooth decay in very young children.
You can help to protect your smile and your children’s smiles by eating healthy. These are our Asheville family dentist tips for eating right for your smile!
- Eat healthy snacks. Rather than letting your kids open up a package of cookies or chips during snack time, keep healthy snacks available. Snacks like apples, carrots, and celery can actually help clean teeth! You can pair them with things like peanut butter or hummus to help kids like them more.
- Limit sodas and juices. Many parents consider juices to be a healthier version of soda, but the truth is that juices contain an inordinate amount of sugar as well. Without the fiber of the fruits these juices were made from, they contribute to an acidic environment in the mouth and increase your child’s risk for other health problems. Teach your kids the dangers of sugary drinks (yes, even sports drinks), and stick to water, tea, or seltzer water if you like that carbonated fizz!
- Eat a balanced diet. Healthy fats also play an important role in your smile. Getting your daily dose of recommended vitamins and minerals can help contribute to a beautiful smile and prevent cavities. With lean proteins, healthy fats, fiber, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, you and your kids can have gorgeous smiles for life!
Schedule an exam or professional cleaning with us to learn more about what you can do to protect your smile! 828-277-6060.