Looking after your teeth is an important way to maintain your dental health as well as your general health. Unless you brush your teeth every day, floss, and use mouthwash, bacteria will accumulate on your teeth, eventually reaching your bloodstream and causing heart issues. Here are five essential ways to look after your teeth and your general health.
Brush Teeth
The first thing we think about when it comes to dental health is tooth brushing, but we don’t always know why or how to brush our teeth correctly. Apart from cleaning teeth and making our breath smell better, brushing teeth is also important to eliminate harmful bacteria in the mouth.
Every day bacteria builds up in the mouth and eventually becomes plaque. Plaque can be very harmful to the teeth, the gums, and the heart. Left untreated, this bacteria makes its way into the bloodstream, causing issues. The answer is to brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes.
Brush Tongue
Many people forget to brush their tongues when brushing their teeth in the morning or evening. Some people don’t like the idea of using their toothbrush on the tongue, while others don’t understand the point of this practice. Brush the tongue for the same reasons you brush your teeth.
Like teeth, the tongue accumulates lots of bacteria throughout the day and night that enter the bloodstream and cause other health problems. However, the tongue also eliminates toxins from inside the body, so you can assist the elimination of toxins by brushing or scraping the tongue.
Fluoride Toothpaste
The majority of toothpaste you buy in the supermarket contains fluoride, and there’s a good reason for that. The bacteria that gets into the mouth accumulates on the enamel of the teeth and starts to break it down. However, fluoride creates a protective coating for all your teeth.
Although most toothpaste you buy contains fluoride, some don’t, so always double-check the type of toothpaste you want to buy before deciding on a brand. Using fluoride toothpaste regularly helps you to protect your teeth and natural teeth whitening improves your smile.
Flossing
Brushing teeth at least twice a day is very important, but it’s not always effective. Even if you brush for two minutes or more, there are still areas of your teeth that you can’t access because of the angles involved. Flossing is one way to eliminate awkward areas of tartar and plaque.
The good news is it probably isn’t necessary to floss teeth as frequently as you brush them, most people floss once a day, but some people might only floss a couple of times a week. Try to floss gently to avoid cutting your gums which can be painful and uncomfortable during the day.
Mouthwash
When you have finished brushing your teeth and flossing, you should have eliminated most of the bacteria and plaque from your mouth, but if you want to finish things off, use some mouthwash. Mouthwash is an essential way to freshen your mouth and kill the remaining bacteria.
*Collaborative Post