It takes more than just brushing your teeth regularly to keep your teeth and gums healthy. Without proper care and regular check-ups, you’re much more susceptible to problems like cavities and gum disease. However, oral health isn’t just about preventing mouth bad breathe and tooth decay – it can also impact your overall health. Poor oral hygiene can increase your risk of serious health problems such as stroke and heart attack.
The good news is – you can easily prevent these problems by implementing a few simple routines into your daily life. Read on for our top 5 tips!
1. Floss Regularly
Some people skip this step and stick solely to brushing their teeth. However, flossing is just as important. Brushing and flossing both help to remove the build-up of plaque, which are bacteria colonies that can cause tooth decay and gum disease. Brushing your teeth only targets plaque on the front and back of your teeth, but flossing helps to remove the build-up in between your teeth and underneath your gums.
2. Go For Regular Cleaning
A regular dental check-up of every 6 months can help you detect mouth and gum problems earlier rather than later. This way, you’ll be able to treat your symptoms before it develops into something worse. Your dentist will also be able to remove any tartar that has accumulated on your teeth as well as treat gum infections, which can lead to poor control of diabetes, and if you’re pregnant – increase the risk of a preterm delivery.
3. Avoid Smoking
Smoking can cause a whole lot of mouth problems, such as bad breath, stained teeth, loss of taste and gum discolouration. It can also increase your risk of gum disease, and mouth and lip cancer. Smoking weakens your immune system in the long run, which makes you more susceptible to infections, and slows down healing processes. Avoiding this bad habit would put you on the right track towards a healthier mouth.
4. Use The Right Toothpaste
Especially when you’re travelling, remember to only pick a toothpaste that contains fluoride, no matter what wonders the other brands claim to do for your teeth. That’s the first thing you should look out for, and after that, you can choose the type, colour and flavour you like!
5. Limit Your Sugar Intake
Having too much sugary foods, such as sweets, desserts and processed foods, can cause cavities. Apart from that, starchy foods like bread, pasta, and crackers can also cause tooth decay, if taken excessively. Foods like these stay in your mouth and gets broken down into simple sugars which bacteria like to feed on. These bacteria produce acid waste which can cause tooth decay.
If you’re due for a trip to the dentist, you can head over to our in-app wellness Marketplace and book services such as examinations, scaling and polishing, and even x-rays. On the platform, we also house healthier snacks and foods, such as chips, nuts and grains to lessen the sugar impact on your teeth and gums. Click here to start shopping today!