Avoiding Dental Decay

A cavity or any other kind of decay occurring in your mouth is an infection that is actively attacking the enamel of your teeth. In fact, it’s one of the most common infections to afflict the human body, only getting beat by the common cold. Despite how common dental decay is, it’s 100% preventable. Unfortunately, people do not put enough time and effort into their dental routine in order to stop this infection. Luckily, the information below, regarding your oral hygiene, can be used to prevent and even reverse the negative effects of dental decay. Besides general dentistry services, they are:

Brushing

There are two times during the day that you need to brush your teeth. One time is right before you go to bed. The other time is anytime, as long as it’s at least one hour after you just ate. The reason you need to wait an hour after eating to brush your teeth is due to the acid in your mouth. It can actually be harmful if you brush too soon after you have recently eaten, because you’re not giving the saliva in your mouth ample time to neutralize the acid. As a result, you might be brushing acid into your teeth, causing some serious harm.

When you are brushing, make sure you have the bristles pointed at a 45-degree angle along the gum line, and you’re moving the toothbrush in a circular motion. This will cause it to have a polishing effect, providing the best clean for the surface of your teeth. Do this for each surface of every tooth. If you do, you’re practically ensuring your prevention from cavities.

Flossing

Flossing is just as important as brushing due to the fact that it’s possible to get cavities between your teeth. That’s why we take x-rays of your mouth. Nevertheless, by neglecting those hard to reach spaces, you may be neglecting your entire oral health.

Ideally you should floss at least once a day. However, you will never hear a dentist say you’re flossing too much. The best time to do it is before or after you brush at night. This will help get rid of all the nasty bacteria and food particles you accrue throughout the day. If you’re not too dexterous with floss, you can use interdental brushes or floss sticks to clean between your teeth. But nothing quite beats the good old fashion clean of nylon wax!

Eating

Your snacking habits also play a major role in your oral health. Eating sugary and starchy foods isn’t terrible for your teeth when you’re eating them during or after a meal. However, if you’re snacking on candy, pretzels, or chips constantly throughout the day, you’re doing yourself a disservice. By constantly snacking, you’re supplying fuel to the bacteria in your mouth in order to create the acid that erodes your enamel. It’s best to limit the amount of snacking you do during the day. Plus, it’s just better for your overall health as well. If you do get hungry during the day, there are some healthy alternatives to snacking. You can try cheese, fruits and vegetables, or even nuts. These suggestions are much healthier options for you to eat during the day.

Save Your Enamel

Dental decay does not need to be so prevalent in the population. All it takes is a simple, yet effective oral health routine and some slight obedience when it comes to snacking. If everyone could follow these steps, dental decay would be a thing of the past. However, we do realize people forget. That’s why it’s also important to schedule regular checkups with the dentist. We can clean what you missed. If you can brush twice a day, floss at least once, watch what you eat, and come visit us twice a year, you too can avoid dental decay!