Bryn Mawr
There is a lot you can do at home to take good care of your teeth. Of course, you need to visit your dentist regularly, but there is a lot of preventative home dental care you can employ to maintain your oral health.
You should visit your dentist at least every 6 months for regular cleaning and preventative care. In between those visits, however, there are several preventative dental care practices that will help you take the best care of your teeth. Here are just a few tips for a good preventative home dental care regimen:
You know this one – you’ve been learning it since you were a child. Brushing your teeth for a minimum of two minutes at least twice a day will help you take proper care of your teeth.
But brushing your teeth doesn’t do much good if you don’t brush them in the correct way. When you’re brushing your teeth, you want to use small, circular motions and cover each part of the tooth.
You want to get into every crevice, every groove, and don’t forget about the chewing surfaces. If you’re doing it right, it will take you at least two minutes to brush all of your teeth. You want to use a soft-bristle toothbrush, and you should change it at least once every three months.
This is another thing you’ve been told all your life and for good reason. It works. As the old joke says, “You only need to floss the teeth you want to keep.”
Most people don’t particularly enjoy flossing, but it’s one of the best ways to take good care of our teeth. You should floss at least once each day. It will help remove the harmful plaque before it can harden into tartar. Once it turns into tartar, the dentist has to remove it.
The helpful and professional team at Dr. Amy Shoumer’s Bryn Mawr office can show you the best way to floss, and they can offer some excellent alternatives, like a water flosser, if you have a hard time with it.
There are many reasons why a healthy diet is good for you, but maintaining your oral health is one of the better ones. You want to avoid foods that are high in sugar and carbs since these foods contain sucrose. Sucrose is very sticky so it holds food close to your teeth and promotes the growth of harmful bacteria.
Additionally, the acids that are produced by foods high in sucrose damage your teeth. The kinds of foods you’ll want to avoid include soda, candy, sugary gum, cookies, cake, pie and potato chips. It might be hard to avoid these foods, but minimizing them and brushing after eating them will help you keep all of your natural teeth. As a bonus, you might also trim your waistline!
These are some of the best ways to practice preventative home dental care, but you still need to schedule regular appointments to get your teeth cleaned.
In Bryn Mawr, PA, the best place to do that is the office of Amy Shoumer, DMD. Dr. Shoumer and her professional team will take care of all your dental needs. Contact our office today for an appointment to keep your smile bright!
