When it comes to keeping your smile looking its best, good oral hygiene is a must! Good oral health habits should start early and continue throughout your lifetime. Here, Dr. Tom Drake and our team at Drake Family Dentistry suggest five habits worth adopting that will help keep your teeth healthy:
- Brush and floss regularly. Brush gently at least twice a day, paying special attention to the gum line to rid your mouth of food and bacteria that may lurk in between your teeth. Floss at least once a day. Replace your toothbrush every three to four months or sooner if the bristles are frayed.
- Make regular visits to see Dr. Tom Drake. Regular checkups (twice yearly) will help diagnose any dental problems early on when they can be more easily treated.
- Stop smoking. Did you know smokers are four times as likely as nonsmokers to develop periodontal (gum) disease? Tobacco, whether in the form of cigarettes, pipes, cigars, or chewable tobacco, increases oral and throat cancer risks, and raises the risk for candidiasis, an oral fungal infection. Smokeless tobacco contains sugar, which furthers your risk for cavities.
- Limit your alcohol intake. Heavy drinking dramatically increases the risk of developing mouth and throat cancers.
- Eat healthy. Avoid snacking on foods that contain high levels of sugar or starch. We encourage you to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are known to help stimulate the flow of saliva to re-mineralize tooth surfaces and neutralize cavity-causing bacteria.
To learn more about the habits you should practice in between your visits to Overland Park dentist office, Drake Family Dentistry, or to schedule an appointment, please give us a call today!
The older I’ve gotten, and the more I’ve kept up on my oral hygiene, the better my teeth and gums have been. So I agree that you have to keep up with that stuff in between visits. I also think it’s really important to go in twice a year, because you can only fight tarter so much on your own. Great tips, thanks!
It’s interesting that ones diet could affect their dental health. I think this could be one of the problems with my kids’ teeth as they all seem to have cavities. I’ll have make sure to improve their diet not only for the dental benefits but the general health benefits as well.