Patients often want to know how they can take better care of their teeth. Along with treating and cleaning a patient’s teeth, we will also use this time to educate the patient on proper at-home care techniques. The bottom line is that proper oral hygiene takes both the dentist and patient providing care. Proper dental care involves at least two regular visits to the dentist for professional cleanings and daily at-home care.
Our dental office relies on you to make sure that your teeth stay healthy, that you have a good oral health routine, and that you come in on a regular basis to see us for cleaning and routine maintenance.
Tips for Healthy Teeth
There is not a single one-stop solution that will allow you to have perfect teeth. Caring for your teeth, like caring for anything, is a process that you must be willing to embrace. A few of the basic things you can do to make sure your teeth are in optimal health is to do what we recommend for every visit you make with us.
This includes coming to our office at least twice every year, brushing your teeth for two minutes at least twice a day, and using floss and mouthwash to augment your brushing.
Be cautious with sugar
For those of you who believe that there is more, you could be doing, when you come in to see us for dentistry, there are a few things you can do to make sure your teeth stay healthy. One of the most important is to avoid the amount of sugar that comes in direct contact with the enamel of your teeth.
If you do have something sugary, you should consider rinsing your mouth out immediately or if possible, using a toothbrush to get the sugar off your teeth. This is because the sugar in common products like soda, energy drinks, tea, and coffee tend to coat your teeth and make the bacteria that occur naturally go into overdrive.
While many patients of a dentist office are very familiar with the fact that sugar can be damaging, few realize that acid or sours can be just as damaging. This is because the acid in sours acts to make the enamel on your teeth extremely weak, and this allows for easy cavities to form.
Change Your Toothbrush
The other piece of advice we always give to any patient when they come in to see us for dentistry is to make sure they are changing their brush — or brush head, if they use an electric toothbrush — at least every six months. One of the ways we are able to remind you to consistently change your toothbrush is by handing you a brand new toothbrush at a bi-annual visit.
Another thing we want to remind you of this visit is to floss your teeth. We do this by handing you a brand new roll of floss, so you remember to clean in between your teeth, as well as brush them.
Why does this all matter?
Request a dental appointment here: https://activedentalonline.com or call Active Dental at (972) 556-0600 for an appointment in our Irving dental office.
