4 Products to Improve Your Dental Hygiene
When it comes to home oral health habits, many people believe they’re doing the right things by their teeth and gums and in some cases, those people may be right. To get down to it though, there are four things you should be doing every day to keep your dental hygiene up to scratch. These are the four products to improve your dental hygiene that you can buy from your local retailer.
#1. Toothbrush
It may seem nonsensical to list a toothbrush as it’s an obvious product used to improve dental hygiene, but with a million and one different types available on the market today, it’s important to get the right one for you. At Care Dental Cashmere, we strongly recommend a toothbrush with a tongue cleaner (you know, that weird thing on the back of the brush head?) if not an actual tongue cleaner. For the majority of people, a soft-bristled toothbrush will do the trick as medium or hard bristled toothbrushes can actually damage the gums, root surface, and protective tooth enamel. It is up to you whether you prefer an electric or manual toothbrush.
Top tip: Hold the brush head at a 45-degree angle and gently move the brush in circular motions or small horizontal strokes. This should have the bristle slightly on your gums. Repeat 20 times on each tooth to improve your dental hygiene significantly.
#2. Toothpaste
Whitening power, sensitive teeth, minty breath or a natural toothpaste – they’re all choices at your local retail store, so what’s best for you? To go along with your brand-new toothbrush, you should be using a toothpaste designed to take care of your teeth, not just clean them. While whitening and stain removing toothpastes are sure to help, they can cause heightened sensitivity and enamel abrasion if you don’t choose the right one. Toothpaste designed for sensitive teeth must feature ingredients like potassium nitrate to alleviate the sensitivity you feel, but you may need to build up the desensitising effects over a period of time to truly notice a difference.
There’s always going to be different options depending on the results you want and as such, it’s best to speak to your dentist about which is right for you.
#3. Dental Floss
Besides being more effective than brushing alone, dental floss provides many great benefits. Flossing is an extra step that helps to remove food debris and bacteria from the areas that brushing cannot access thereby preventing bacteria and tartar build-up, not to mention, it helps eliminate bad breath. One of the major benefits of flossing is the prevention of gum disease. Did you know that if you don’t look after your teeth and allow plaque to build up, it will slowly erode the soft tissue of your gums, leading to periodontal disease? But something as simple as flossing can be a great deterrent to gum disease.
The most important thing to remember is that flossing should be done in conjunction with brushing your teeth twice daily and should not be considered an option dental hygiene routine.
#4. Mouthwash
While a toothbrush accesses the broader and flatter parts of your teeth and floss gets into those tight gaps between the teeth, there’s still plenty of inaccessible areas left inside your mouth that need to be cleaned. This is why mouthwash is an important step in your dental hygiene care routine. Your gums are especially vulnerable to inflammation due to bacteria that collects in the mouth and brushing may not completely remove it all. What starts as a mild case of gingivitis may end up turning into periodontal disease without mouthwash rinsing away any leftover harmful bacteria. Mouthwash can also provide other great benefits such as fresher breath and stronger enamel (if you’re buying the specific one to give you such a benefit).
These 4 products to improve your dental hygiene are just a few things that you can do toward preventative oral care. Each product can be purchased at your local retailer and you can receive recommendation for best brands from your local dentist.
Book your next dental check-up at Care Dental Cashmere, call (07) 3882 6666.
