Winters are one of the most favorite seasons of most people. The charm that winter carries is beautiful. Winters bring with it a lot of joy, delight, and fun. Be it the snow falling outside your window or the rays of the warm winter sun brightening up your day, the aura of winters is undoubtedly merry! The drastic change in the weather looks so cool to us, but it is, in fact, one of the most dangerous times for our bodies. During weather change, our body takes time to adapt to the changes happening outside in the environment. If we do not take care of our bodies during this time, we will most likely harm our body by falling ill.
Winters are all about sitting in a well-heated place and sipping our favorite cocoa drinks. Be it hot chocolate, latte, or other kinds of drinks, the amount of sugar entering our bodies is enormous! We need to be extra careful about drinking our favorite winter beverages. Apart from sipping winter beverages, we also get hungry fast in the winter. Since the weather makes our bodies lazy and cold, we attract ourselves to more and more food to keep ourselves warm and away from boredom. The changes in our eating and drinking habits during winters cause a lot of change in our bodies. Not only do they have an effect on our outer body, but they also cause changes in our internal body.
The risk of getting oral health problems during winters is at an all-time high as we do not take much care of our bodies. Since our oral health hugely impacts our overall health, it is essential for us to take care of our oral health properly. But, taking care of your dental hygiene during winters does not mean that you stop enjoying and having fun. You need to balance out whatever you do by taking proper measures so that you do not end up causing harm to your teeth. Therefore, following a proper pattern for maintaining oral hygiene during winters is essential for your health. Here is a list of eight simple dental care tips that you should follow to avoid any kind of dental pain during the winter season. If you follow these eight steps, you will be able to enjoy your winters to the core.
- BRUSH YOUR TEETH TWICE A DAY: Dentists all around the world recommend brushing teeth twice a day. If you have a habit of brushing your teeth twice a day, you are way ahead in the case of safety for your teeth. If you do not have the habit of brushing your teeth twice a day, this is the first thing that you should start with. When we brush our teeth before sleeping, we clean our mouth of all the germs and plaque that have a chance of sticking and attacking our teeth. It does not matter if you have a stainless steel crown for your teeth, brushing before sleeping is mandatory for everyone. Brushing your teeth twice a day helps you in fighting against all the germs that enter inside the mouth. It also creates a protective shield inside your mouth and prevents the accumulation of plaque. Brushing not only protects your teeth, but it also protects the gums from catching infections. Gums are the most sensitive area inside the mouth and catch infections easily. Therefore, to protect yourself from gum infections and gum diseases and also prevent yourself from teeth pain in winters, you should form a habit of brushing your teeth twice a day.
- USE SPECIAL KINDS OF TOOTHPASTE: Toothpaste plays a vital role in protecting the enamel of the teeth from various types of problems. The cold air during the winter affects our teeth and makes them weak. The weakness of the teeth causes sensitivity, which further leads to the weakening of the teeth and gums. Sensitivity is one of the major problems faced by the majority of people nowadays. To protect your teeth from sensitivity, you should start using toothpaste made, especially for sensitive teeth. There are a lot of brands that make toothpaste just for protecting your teeth from sensitivity. Therefore, you should pick a toothpaste that suits you best and start using it during winters to protect your teeth from sensitivity.
- FLOSSING AND MOUTHWASH: Flossing plays a vital role in protecting your mouth from developing plaque. Plaque is very harmful to your teeth and gums. If you do not clean it on a day to day basis, it slowly destroys the oral hygiene. It is the primary reason for most of the gum and tooth problems that you face. Plaque not only harms the teeth and the gums but, it also damages the overall body. If there is a lot of plaque inside your mouth, you are more prone to attracting problems like Heart Diseases, Type 2 diabetes, Oral Cancer, etc. Therefore, to protect yourself from creating a risk of catching all these problems, you should start flossing. Once you brush your teeth, the next step that you should follow is flossing. The final step for providing your teeth with comprehensive care is to rinse the mouth with a mouthwash. Mouthwash is a reliable product that has a lot of benefits for your mouth. It not only gives your mouth a pleasant smell but, it also helps in cleaning plaque, germs, and taking out cavities from it. Therefore, you should include flossing and mouthwash in your daily brushing routine.
- DRINK LOTS OF WATER: We do not drink much water in the winter due to the cold weather. Not drinking much water makes our mouth dry and causes a lot of problems for our mouth like bad breath, gum disease, tooth decay, tooth pain, etc. Staying hydrated protects our mouth from all these problems as it helps in producing more saliva, which in turn is a sign of good oral health and fresh breath. For having healthy teeth and gums, you should make drinking lots of water during winters a priority.
5. LIMIT SMOKING: Smoking is one of the major reasons for tooth pain, gum problems, and tooth decay. This is because smoking leads to the formation of plaque inside your mouth. It destroys the natural odor of the mouth, and the smoke of a cigarette weakens our gums. Smoking is the primary reason for our teeth turning yellow. In winters, the mouth already becomes dry because of limited water intake. If you smoke a lot of cigarettes in the cold weather, you are most likely to cause a lot of problems for your oral hygiene. Therefore, limiting smoking helps a lot in preventing tooth problems.
6. EAT A GOOD DIET: Diet plays a significant role in protecting your teeth from all kinds of problems. If you have a good and healthy diet, you are most likely to face fewer oral health problems. You should keep a monitor on what you eat during winters. Humans become lazy and usually do not rinse their mouth after meals; this, in turn, causes a lot of problems for the mouth. Therefore, it becomes necessary to eat a good and healthy diet. You should eat a lot of carbs and proteins during winters so that you keep your body energized. But, you should not ignore rinsing your mouth after meals as it can cause a lot of problems for your oral hygiene.
7. LIMIT AERATED BEVERAGES AND SWEETS: Packed food contain a lot of harmful sugar that causes a lot of tooth problems. We attract ourselves to eating a lot of sweets during winters because sweets give energy to our body, which produces heat and keeps our bodies warm. But, this has a lot of adverse effects on our oral health. The laziness of winters prompts us to opt for options that are readily available and do not require a lot of work. These options are very dangerous for our teeth and gums, and we should limit eating and drinking these sweets and aerated beverages.
8. BRUSH GENTLY: The way you brush your teeth has a lot to do with your oral hygiene. According to dentists, you should be very gentle while brushing your teeth in winters as your teeth and gums already become weak due to the cold weather. There is a proper pattern of brushing your teeth, and you should follow the appropriate method so that you do not cause any harm to your teeth. When you brush your teeth gently, the gums also stay soft, and the germs exit the mouth with ease. Harshly brushing your teeth often makes your gums bleed and cause damage to your teeth. You should choose a toothbrush with soft bristles so that the toothbrush does not cause harm to your teeth and gums. Therefore, brushing your teeth gently with a soft toothbrush helps to prevent a lot of tooth problems in winters.
If you follow these eight simple steps, you can go a long way to protect your teeth from all the oral problems that you can face in winters. These steps will make you enjoy a pain-free winter by reducing all kinds of tooth pain and oral health problems. You should also visit your dentist frequently during winters to ensure that you do not have any oral health problems. Winter is about celebrating with family, and you should not make any sacrifices in your celebrations because of any dental problems. By knowing what to do for your oral health during the winters, you make sure that you are on the safe side so that you do not miss out on the fun!