How to keep your teeth healthy is the question almost everyone asks. Finding a good dentist can be difficult for some of us. An, if we are lucky enough to find one, maintaining good oral health, may include many regular departures to the dental office. To help your visits pass as painlessly as possible (both for yourself and your pocket), it is necessary that you constantly maintain excellent oral hygiene. If you want healthier, cleaner and stronger pearly whites, there are 6 simple yet powerful steps to achieve that.

 

1. How to keep your teeth healthy by using proper brushing technique

We all know that we should brush our pearly whites twice a day. Read our Best Manual Toothbrush Review on how to choose a good toothbrush. But as much important also is how to brush. Therefore try to follow next few simple steps:

• It is necessary to brush your teeth for at least two minutes.
• It is better to use a brush with a small ‘head’, as you will easily reach the back teeth.
• Avoid brushing from side to side (horizontal), circular movements or movements from up to down. It is best to use short vibrating movements.
• Try an electric toothbrush. The truth is that cleaning can also be done well with a regular brush. But an electric toothbrush often has a timer and is great for people suffering from arthritis.
• If you have gum problems or sensitive teeth, try a softer brush.
  

  2. Use an interdental brush 

Interdental brush reaches all those parts of your pearly whites that the regular toothbrush can’t. It is great to use it to clean interdental spaces to solve harmful deposits between teeth and near the gum tissue that can lead to periodontitis.

For people prone to diseases of the gums or with fixed braces, it is even more important to use interdental brushes. Higher risk of gum disease have smokers and diabetics.

3. Do not forget the tongue 

Bacteria accumulate on the tongue as well as on pearly whites, but only some of us remember to clean it. If you look closely you will see your own tongue that is rough and has many places where microscopic bacteria can accumulate. By scratching it with the brush, you remove the bacteria and reduce the chance of oral diseases. If that’s not motivation enough, you know that studies have shown that brushing or scraping the tongue helps get rid of bad breath.

4. Stop smoking

We all know how harmful impact cigarettes have on overall health, especially on respiratory organs. But, it is less known that smoking cigarettes also have harmful effects on the health of the mouth and teeth:

– Darker teeth. Nicotine and tar contained in cigarettes will make your pearly whites yellow in a very short period of time. In heavy smokers, teeth can even become dark brown or black.
– Gum disease. Not only that smoking facilitates retention of bacteria and plaque but also causes less oxygen flow into the bloodstream. That causes gum disease more difficult to treat. Gum disease is the most common cause of tooth loss in adult smokers.
– Mouth cancer. Most people know that smoking causes cancer of the throat and lungs. But, not many of us know that smoking is one of the main cause of mouth cancer. Every year more people die from mouth cancer than melanoma (skin cancer). If you drink alcohol and smoke regularly, you have fifteen times more chance to get sick from this malignant disease.

5. Eat regularly and avoid snacks and sweets

Well, this is really nothing new. We all know that snacks and sweets are not good for your teeth (neither for your looks). What is perhaps more interesting is that it is not (at least as far as for the health of your teeth) so important how much sweets you eat, but how often you eat them.

• Sugar in combination with the bacteria from dental plaque leads to tooth decay. Use low calorie sugar in your diet whenever you can. Xylitol chewing gum can also help.
• When you eat something sweet, your teeth and mouth are “under attack” which lasts about 45 to 60 minutes. Sugar lowers the pH level in the mouth and saliva, making it more acidic, which attacks the tooth enamel. Keep in mind that after eating sweets, it is necessary about one hour that pH levels in your mouth get back to normal. So if you eat something sweet often throughout the day, it means that your mouth and teeth will be more frequent under “attack”. 
• Studies have shown that consuming fruits and fresh vegetables rich in antioxidants can protect your gums from developing gum disease.

6. Change what you drink 

Good news! New research has shown that tea (of course without sugar) is the best drink for your teeth. Tea contains fluorides, which enhance strengthening of the tooth enamel. Also, both black and green tea contain a chemical that destroys bacteria and viruses that cause a sore throat, tooth decay, and gum disease. So, cut out fizzy and sugary drinks from the daily menu. But if, even with your best effort, you can not get rid of that habit, try to respect these rules:

• Limit their intake. Try drinking sugary drinks only once a day. 
• Do not shake the drink in your mouth. That is because your whole mouth will be covered with sugar, not just a few front teeth.
• Necessarily use a straw! That way sweet liquid will completely avoid contact with teeth.