Dental Wise

Dental Health
You know what you eat. You know how often you brush and floss. What else can you do?

What else can you do to have healthy teeth? How do you know if your mouth is healthy? When you think about a healthy diet, do you take into consideration what you are drinking?

Advertisers may have also convinced you that you need to buy gum, breath mints, and mouth sprays to have nice breath. But fresh breath doesn't necessarily give you a healthy mouth and teeth. So how exactly should you take care of your teeth?

Tooth care at home
According to dentists, the most important part of tooth care happens at home. Brushing and flossing properly, along with regular dental checkups, can help prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

Giving plaque the brush off
To prevent cavities, you need to remove plaque, the transparent layer of bacteria that coats the teeth, by brushing your teeth twice a day. Brushing also stimulates the gums, which helps to keep them healthy and prevents gum disease. Brushing - along with flossing - is the most important thing that you can do to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Did you know that the toothbrush was invented by the Chinese in 1,000 AD? We now have lots of choices in toothbrushes, including different sizes, shapes, types of bristles, and colours. Your dentist will tell you which toothbrush is the right size and shape for you. Most often, however, dentists recommend a soft-bristled brush to minimise damage to teeth and gums.

What's in a toothpaste?
Toothpastes contain abrasives, detergents, and foaming agents. Fluoride, the most common active ingredient in toothpaste, is what prevents cavities. So you should always be sure your toothpaste contains this ingredient.

If you have teeth that are sensitive to heat, cold, and pressure, you may want to try a special toothpaste (like Sensodyne Toothpaste or Mediplus Toothpaste) for sensitive teeth. But you'll still need to talk to your dentist about your sensitivity because it may indicate a more serious problem, such as a cavity or nerve inflammation (irritation).

You may want white teeth but be careful when buying bleaching products. Some bleaching agents may cause damage to your gums and mouth. If you want to whiten your teeth, talk to your dentist. He or she may be able to offer you professional treatment.

Tips on proper brushing
Dentists say that the minimum time you should spend brushing your teeth is 2 minutes twice a day. Here are some tips on how to brush properly:

- Hold your brush at a 45-degree angle against your gum line. Gently brush (hard scrubbing may cause receding gums, tooth sensitivity, and over time, loss of teeth) from where the tooth and gum meet to the chewing surface in short (about half-a-tooth-wide) strokes.

- Use the same method to brush all outside and inside surfaces of your teeth.

- To clean the chewing surfaces of your teeth, use short sweeping strokes, tipping the bristles into the pits and crevices.

- To clean the inside surfaces of your top and bottom front teeth and gums, hold the brush almost vertical. With back and forth motions bring the front part of the brush over the teeth and gums.

- Using a forward-sweeping motion, gently brush your tongue and the roof of your mouth to remove the decay-causing bacteria that exists in these places.

- Gently brush your all-oral mucosa including your tongue, cheek, and palate. This is a new concept of brushing all the parts of your oral cavity and researchers found that it leads to extremely good and fresh breath.

Facts on flossing/interdental brush
Although brushing is important, it won't remove the plaque and particles of food between your teeth. You'll need to floss and/or inter dental brush these spaces at least once a day.

The type of floss/inter dental brush you choose depends on how much space you have between your teeth. Although unwaxed floss is often recommended because it is thinner and easier to slide through small spaces, studies have shown that there is no major difference in the effectiveness based on the type of floss used.

With any floss, you should be careful to avoid injuring your gums. Follow these instructions:

- Carefully insert the floss between two teeth, using a back and forth motion. Gently bring the floss to the gumline, but don't force it under the gums. Curve the floss around the edge of your tooth in the shape of the letter "C" and slide it up and down the side of each tooth.

- Repeat this process between all your teeth, and remember to floss the backsides of your back teeth.

The nutrition connection
Eating sugar, as you probably already know, is a major cause of tooth decay. When and how often you eat sugar may be more important than how much you eat.

When you eat sugary foods or drink sodas frequently throughout the day, the enamel that protects your teeth is constantly exposed to acids. Hard candies, cough drops, and breath mints are especially harmful because they dissolve slowly in your mouth. Many experts suggest that you take a 3 hour break between eating foods containing sugar.

Sugary or starchy foods eaten with a meal are less harmful to your teeth than when they're eaten alone, possibly because the production of saliva, which washes away the sugar and bacteria, is increased. However, sugary foods eaten before you go to bed can be very damaging (especially if you don't brush your teeth afterward) because you don't produce as much saliva when you sleep.

For most people, it's hard to cut out sweets completely, so try to follow these more realistic guidelines:

- Eat carbohydrates (sugars and starches) with a meal.

- If you can't brush your teeth after eating, rinse your mouth with water, mouthwash, or chew sugarless gum.

- If you like snacks, eat non-sugary foods, such as cheese, popcorn, raw veggies, or yoghurt.