When writing about ways to take care of your teeth, we have to go over those related to diet, brushing and bad habits.
And that is exactly what we will do in this article. Our intention at HQ Dontics is to help you have the best oral health possible so you can have a spectacular smile.
We always start from the fact that, only with health, you will have access to the aesthetics you are looking for.
Next, we will review the best ways to take care of your teeth…
Ways to take care of your teeth with food
When talking about ways to take care of your teeth with the foods you eat, we should make a list of what can help you and what cannot. So pay attention.
Consume foods with fluoride
If you eat foods with fluoride, such as meat, spinach, onions, fish or lettuce, you will help the resistance of your tooth enamel. This will prevent bacteria and cavities from appearing.
Eat an apple
Those who usually eat an apple after lunch have an advantage: they reduce dental plaque and acquire vitamin C, essential to protect teeth.
Swap coffee for green tea
Coffee stains teeth, green tea does not. It also contains fluoride, as well as good bacteria and antioxidants that prevent plaque from sticking to your teeth.
Eat dairy products such as cheese or yogurts
Dairy products have calcium that gives strength to your teeth. But consuming them also helps you maintain a healthy tooth color.
Raw carrots
Raw carrots have the ideal consistency for chewing to prevent plaque on both teeth and gums.
Dark chocolate
Ignore the myths. Chocolate, when it is at least 70% cocoa, will help prevent cavities. For this to happen, it obviously cannot contain sugar either; and if it is 100% dark chocolate, so much the better.
What about water?
Water is crucial for you to brush your teeth, and that’s positive enough. However, when it contains fluoride, it also helps prevent cavities by simply touching your teeth.
And the chewing gum? Seriously, what about the gum?
As long as it is sugarless gum, chewing it will help you generate more saliva.
That saliva will protect your mouth and prevent cavities and bacteria from having comfort to thrive.
Ways to take care of your teeth while brushing
Below we will highlight ways to take care of your teeth when brushing. It’s not enough to simply brush your teeth: you have to do it well and regularly to make them last and look good.
Brush your teeth at least twice a day
If you brush regularly, your teeth will stay free of plaque. Otherwise, it will become hard and you will only be able to remove it with a cleaning at the dentist.
However, you also have to have regular cleanings because there will always be some plaque on your teeth and that can cause possible diseases.
Do not brush immediately after eating
Better just rinse your mouth with water after eating or wait about 40 minutes to brush. This is the time in which your teeth recover from the weakness caused by the acids and sugars in some foods.
Use a soft bristle brush
Although hard bristle brushes give you the sensation of greater cleanliness, the truth is that they end up hurting the dentin. On the other hand, soft bristles clean dental plaque effectively.
Brush your tongue
Most of the bacteria that are in your mouth right now are not on your teeth, but on your tongue. Each time you brush, be sure to scrape it off with the bristles of your toothbrush to remove as much as possible.
This way you will avoid diseases, infections and even cavities.
Brush your teeth properly
This is simple. Tilt the brush about 45 degrees to the gum, apply pressure and move it up and down in a circular motion. Thus, brush the upper teeth downwards and the lower teeth upwards.
Don’t forget to floss
This is another one you probably knew about. Dentists will always remind you to use dental floss, but you must do it properly: stretch it out, cut it and circle the tips of your index fingers with each end, then start passing it through each of the spaces between the teeth until you remove any trace of food that has been deposited. Ready.
Ways to take care of your teeth by eliminating bad habits
The ways to take care of your teeth that have to do with eliminating bad habits are partly related to willpower, but also to logic.
A person needs willpower to give up cigarettes or coffee, but must use logic not to break a pack with his teeth… Let’s review some of these bad habits.
Do not use your teeth as tools
If you use your teeth to uncork bottles, open packages or break bags, the damage can be serious: from breaking or chipping teeth to loosening them from the gums.
There is nothing more effective than using real tools: pliers, scissors, knives… Teeth are for tearing, cutting and grinding food.
Do not put hard things in your mouth
This happens in moments of leisure or when we are thinking about something: we become absorbed, and with our eyes lost we put anything in our mouth: from the cap of a pen to a nail… Then we start to nibble on that object without knowing how much damage we are doing to our teeth, or knowing, but we do it anyway.
This is something you should always control and avoid, because it can be as serious as using your teeth as tools; but less useful.
Reduce coffee consumption
It’s a fact: too much coffee stains teeth. The tannins contained in coffee darken the original shade of the teeth.
On the other hand, being an acid, coffee also damages tooth enamel.
Avoid smoking
If you can’t quit, at least try to cut down on smoking. The consequences of ignoring this advice are several: bad breath, yellow and brown stains on the teeth, plaque and tartar buildup, increased bone loss in the jaw, gum disease and even tooth loss.
Ask your dentist about which toothpaste to use
There is such a wide variety of toothpastes on the market that we may be using one that is too abrasive and can damage the enamel. So the best thing to do is to ask your dentist which one to use. Just make sure you are brushing your teeth with fluoride toothpaste in the meantime.
With these 20 ways to take care of your teeth we hope you have learned something useful. If you want to make an appointment at HQ Dontics, write to us! We can help you!