6 simple tips to improve your oral health
By now you’re aware that good oral hygiene can impact on your overall wellbeing, it makes sense to optimise your oral health routines and really keep on top of your oral health. Here are some fundamentals to consider to improve on your oral health regime. Use the Right Tools While there isn’t the need to rush out and buy a you-beaut, top of the range electric toothbrush, choosing the right toothbrush is important. A good electric toothbrush can be a worthwhile investment, but if you prefer to use a traditional brush, steer away from the hard bristles and choose a soft or medium bristle brush instead. Hard bristles can cause damage to the enamel on your teeth, so using a softer brush with the right technique is all you really need. How many types of floss are there to choose from? If you’re concerned about which one is best for you, talk to your dentist about the right type of floss for your tooth configuration. Fray away! If your toothbrush is looking a bit hairy, it’s time to replace it. Once the bristles have decided to go wherever they please, your brush is not doing your cleaning routine any favours. After three months, it’s a new brush please! How’s your form? Keep working to perfect your technique. We’ve mentioned not brushing too hard, so what is the right way to brush? Recommendations are to aim your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your gum line, move your brush in short back and forward strokes to cover the entire tooth surface. Brush the outside surfaces, then the inside surfaces, making sure you reach even the hard to get to back teeth (remember to brush along the gum line to loosen any debris caught there. It’s recommended that you brush for 2 minutes all up. AND – don’t forget to floss! Hold the floss firmly with both hands, pull the floss up both sides of every tooth to loosen and expel any debris caught in the spaces. Floss is boss every day! If you’re unsure how effective your technique is, check in with your dentist next time you visit. Balance your diet A healthy balanced diet is good for teeth and good for you. Limit your snacks so your mouth isn’t under a constant barrage – and choose snacks wisely when you are not able to brush afterward. Rinsing with water after eating (and drinking) is always a good idea. Do you have protection? If you play contact sport, invest in a mouthguard, your health fund will have cover for this. Your dentist can make you a decent custom mouthguard to protect your teeth from damage while you play. If you grind your teeth at night, ask your dentist about a splint. Grinding can cause wear and tear on your teeth, it may leave you with headaches and tooth sensitivity – grinding may even cause a tooth to crack. Your dentist can make you a splint to wear at night while you sleep, to prevent any nocturnal damage to your beautiful pearlies. Come see us! Last, but definitely not least in a list of smart things to do to improve your oral hygiene is to maintain your regular visits to your dentist. Regular Active Maintenance appointments are an essential component of good oral health. While doing the best job you can at home is vital, your dentist can keep tabs on any potential problems and monitor how well you are doing with your home care. Regular visits to the dentist can keep expensive treatments at bay, as your dentist can catch any problems early, before anything nasty happens. Want to learn more or book a consultation? Visit our Contact Us page and complete our enquiry form or call us on 02 9389 3656, we’ll be happy to help answer your questions.
5 Oral Health Warning signs you should never ignore.
You’re brushing and flossing like a boss, you attend your regular Active Maintenance visits to your dentist, you’re eating well, using the right tools for your at-home oral Health care and you know when to replace them – what could go wrong – right? Sometimes things can go awry for even the most diligent of us, it doesn’t hurt to be a super sleuth when it comes to your oral health, here are some symptoms to keep on the radar… Your teeth and/or jaw soreness may be caused by stress, or from bruxxing (grinding your teeth) while you sleep. If you are a bruxxer, your dentist might recommend a splint for you to wear at night, to help alleviate the symptoms. However, oral discomfort may also be caused by a sinus condition, toothache, or gum disease. Jaw pain is also associated with Heart Attack, so if you are experiencing pain, call your dentist and book in for a check – just to be on the safe side. My Gums are bleeding! When you floss, your gums bleed a little. Here’s a tip – if your gums bleed – keep flossing in your oral hygiene routine. If after a week your gums are still bleeding when you floss, then don’t ignore it, it’s time to book in to see your dentist.Bleeding or sore gums can be an indicator of early gum disease such as gingivitis, which can lead to more serious gum infections and oral problems such as bad breath, tooth loss, and sensitivity to hot and cold – we don’t want any of that, right? Gum infections can be linked to more serious conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Let’s get those gums checked out to rule out anything sinister. Ouch! Toothache/ Tooth sensitivity. Toothache isn’t going to go away without help, and if you leave a toothache too long, you run the risk of the infection causing nerve damage or rendering the tooth unsalvageable. Toothache or tooth sensitivity could also mean that your tooth is slowly dying. We don’t want to lose one of those pearlies that you’ve been taking such good care of, do we? So best take your toothache along to the dentist early, alleviate the pain and save the tooth! My breath smells like a fish tank… Was it the pickles and pastrami on your sandwich at lunch, or the garlic and anchovy pizza for dinner last night? – your diet could very easily be the cause of your anti-social breath (break out the mouthwash and the mints!) If that’s not it, perhaps have a closer look at your dental hygiene routine, have you slackened off of late? Maybe it’s time to get a little more diligent with the brush and floss. If your breath remains rancid, there may be a larger issue here. Oftentimes gum disease is the cause, so now might be a time to call in the Big Guns (AKA your dentist). Whatever the cause of your nasty mouth, a visit to the dentist can help clear things up. Not only can you prevent gum disease from becoming serious, you’ll also be able to get up close and personal again! What IS this? Sores, lump and lesions in the mouth. Sometimes sores and lesions on the mouth can be attributed to poor nutrition or stress, but it can also be an early sign of Oral Cancer, so if you find a lesion or a lump, it isn’t something to procrastinate over. Oral Cancer is common, most often found in smokers or heavy alcohol users. It often starts out as small red or white spots or sores in the mouth. While it would be very hard for you to tell the difference between a canker sore and a cancer, your dentist is trained to know the difference, in fact at Dental Fresh we check our patients at every visit for signs of oral cancer.Regardless of the cause of your sores or lesions, it’s imperative to get them checked out. Whatever their cause, your dentist can assist with an appropriate treatment plan. The sooner this gets checked by your dentist, the easier treatment will be, so don’t dilly dally! Want to learn more or book a consultation? Visit our Contact Us page and complete our enquiry form or call us on 02 9389 3656, we’ll be happy to help answer your questions.
