It doesn’t take much effort to keep your healthy smile intact, yet problems like tooth decay can arise quickly when your oral health is not properly maintained. What are the biggest factors contributing to troublesome checkups? These answers probably won’t surprise you.
Not Brushing Properly
Your oral health really begins with a simple toothbrush. While it might sound ridiculous, it’s not simply a question of whether your brush regularly or not. Your dentist will immediately notice if you haven’t been brushing your teeth correctly.
Most people are on autopilot when they brush their teeth, using vigorous horizontal motions designed to finish the tedium faster – some of this is probably counted as exhaustion from waking up or going to sleep. The fact of the matter is that this is considered a minimal cleaning job due to the composition of our own teeth.
It’s critical you brush at a 45 degree angle and use short circular motions. Make sure to split your focus between the gums and teeth. Don’t rush the process either – spend no less than two minutes brushing your teeth during every routine brushing.
Never Flossing
There’s a reason your dentist sounds like a broken record when it comes to flossing – it’s incredibly important to your oral health. While most people think they can get around flossing altogether – what’s a cavity or two? – your teeth actually decay at an accelerated rate the longer you forego this routine.
Avoiding Mouthwash
The final process in a good cleaning routine, mouthwash is often overlooked altogether. Like flossing, an approved mouthwash helps address the trouble spots in your mouth a brush can’t reach. Apart from keeping your teeth and gums happy, you’ll also stop bad breath in its tracks.
Eating Sugary Foods Throughout the Day
How often do you stop and look at the nutrition labels behind the foods you eat? You might be shocked to learn that your favorite beverage packs more sugar than your average candy bar. Incidentally, this is also wreaking havoc across your teeth.
Sugary foods lead directly to plaque, that fuzzy film covering your teeth that promotes decay. What makes this effect even more pronounced is consuming sugar throughout the day, keeping your teeth constantly exposed to its adverse effect.
Want to snag the occasional Oreo? It’s a better plan to designate one point in the day where you allow yourself to binge. Start limiting the time you consume sugar until you control the habit. Don’t forget to check your nutrition info either!
Eating Before Bed
Not only is eating just before you sleep bad for your metabolism, it’s downright terrible for your oral health. Set a time of night – usually at least two hours before you go to bed – that everything but water is ruled out. Midnight snacks are fun for the occasional cheat day but they’re detrimental to your teeth when they become a habit.