Preventive Dental Care

Preventive Dental Care | As we say farewell to 2021, many of us will be making our customary New Year’s resolutions. It’s never a bad idea to make at least one of those a resolution to improve your health, particularly your oral hygiene. By renewing your commitment to preventative care in the new year, you will be saving yourself a lot of time and expense by preventing unnecessary dental work.

Here are a few activities related to preventative maintenance that you want to make sure that you are keeping up with to give yourself your best chance of preventing tooth decay and gum disease.

Dental Cleaning

Between proper oral hygiene at home, and your routine dental cleaning appointments, you should be able to keep tooth decay and gum disease at bay.

The importance of dental cleaning appointments is that your dental hygienist will be able to remove any plaque from your teeth and under your gum line. Plaque is a sticky substance that damages the teeth and gums, eventually leading to periodontal disease if it is not removed regularly.

Just the Basics

It’s easy to neglect routine oral hygiene activities like brushing and flossing when you are on a busy schedule. If you’ve been slacking in this department, now would be a great time to renew your commitment to oral hygiene so that you don’t find yourself searching online for the term “dentist near me” to perform a tooth extraction or root canal procedure. For this reason, Preventive Dental Care is essential.

Make sure that you are practicing Preventive Dental Care such as:

• Flossing daily
• Brushing your teeth at least twice a day
• Using a good fluoride toothpaste

At times, you may find yourself away from home, and your dental floss and toothbrush. But you can still rinse your mouth out with some water after you eat something to remove oral bacteria and at least some of the food that would otherwise be in your mouth. When you return home, brush and floss normally.

Don’t Neglect Nutrition

Nutrition is one of those areas that patients often overlook when it comes to their Preventive Dental Care. If you are constantly drinking sugary acidic sodas, for example, you are contributing to tooth decay. Acids found in sodas can strip away your tooth enamel, leaving your tooth even more vulnerable to the sugars contained in the sodas. So cut back on these types of drinks and sugary snacks. 

When it comes to foods that support oral health, don’t neglect fruits that contain high amounts of vitamin C. Vitamin C is known to build and protect gum tissue that surrounds and protects your teeth.

The Bottom Line

As you ring in the New Year, consider renewing your commitment to oral health. This means brushing and flossing as directed and keeping up with your dental cleaning appointments. By doing so, you will have given yourself your best chance of keeping a healthy and attractive smile.

Contact our office to learn more about Preventive Dental Care. New patients are welcome.