Good dental hygiene is a skill that everyone needs to master, and one that can always use refreshing long after you’ve mastered it. Whether you’re unaware of certain things you’re doing that hinder your hygiene efforts, or are lacking in certain areas and don’t realize it, brushing up on good hygiene skills can help you ensure that your efforts are rewarded with a consistently healthy smile. Today, we take a look at some of the more common ways in which most people can improve their dental hygiene routines, and why it’s important that they stick to their improved routines consistently.
A few tips for practicing better dental hygiene
- Invest in better toothpaste – The point of brushing and flossing your teeth every day is to clean away the plaque (bacterial biofilm) that develops on their surfaces. The quality of your toothbrush is important to this goal, but so is the quality and type of toothpaste you use. For instance, you might benefit from a less abrasive toothpaste to avoid harming your tooth enamel, especially if you have a tendency to brush a little harder.
- Make liberal use of your dental floss – The act of flossing itself can sometimes be easy to overlook, and for some people, it’s even easier to just speed through it to say it’s done. That can include using the same piece of floss to clean between multiple different teeth, which is generally a bad idea. Don’t spare the floss – use a fresh section of it every time you floss between a different pair of teeth to avoid transferring oral bacteria and food particles.
- Do more than just brush and floss – Brushing and flossing your teeth are essential to keeping them clean, but alone, they aren’t enough to consistently keep your teeth healthy. To improve the quality of your hygiene routine, you might also benefit from adding the right mouthwash to it, such as an anti-bacterial rinse that can help you more effectively fight off harmful oral bacteria.
- Keep your teeth in mind when you eat – Keeping your teeth clean is only half the battle of keeping them healthy for life. In addition to avoiding excessive plaque buildup and using additional hygiene products, it’s also important to keep in mind how your teeth affected by the things you subject them to, like your food. Teeth need healthy minerals and nutrients, like calcium, to remain healthy. Yet, they can be compromised by things like too many carbs, which oral bacteria can turn into enamel-eroding acids.
Learn more about improving your dental hygiene
Even if you’ve practiced good dental hygiene your whole life, it always helps to remind yourself of its importance and ensure you’re doing all you can to keep your smile clean and healthy. To learn more, schedule an appointment or initial consultation by calling Advanced Dental Concepts in Auburn Hills, MI, today at (248) 852-1820.
