Call me vain regarding my teeth, since I'll do whatever it takes to maintain them in good shape. Preventative care is always less costly and better for our teeth, then having to fix neglect. What's more, I thought I was doing everything right to care for them, but I was wrong! I learned new better practises last week during my annual dental cleaning and checkup.
5 Habits For Keeping Teeth and Gums Healthy
are:
👄1) Brush your teeth for 2 minutes in the morning after breakfast.
👄2) Brush your teeth for 2 minutes before bedtime.
👄3) Foss your teeth for 1 minute before one of the brushings -
So here's a surprise! The flossers (i.e. dental floss on a pick) I use are not as thorough as using dental floss on a spool that we must break off and twirl around our fingers, says my dental hygienist. The loose floss gets in between teeth better than the up and down motion of dental floss on a pick. I won't lie, I'm sorry to hear this as the floss on a pick is easy to use! C'est la vie.
👄4) Rinse with mouthwash for 30 seconds twice a day -
This I do, but was told that alcohol free mouthwash is better than an alcohol based mouthwash because the alcohol kills nearly all the bacteria in your mouth, both good and bad, which can lead to an imbalance unless you rinse every single day, which I do! Also: " ... studies by BioMed Research International suggest alcohol free mouthwashes have a better effect on the gloss, colour, hardness and wear of tooth composite restorations compared to mouthwashes that contain alcohol." Most of us have composites by the time we're in our 30s, as our gums wear away from our teeth. The expression "long of the tooth"originates from the reality that as gums recede with age, teeth appear longer.
My dentist likes Colgate Total 12 Hour Pro-Shield Antibacterial rinse or Listerine (which is also an antibacterial rinse).
👄5) A sonic toothbrush is "highly recommended" over hand brushing.
My dental office likes the Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush - A basic, not an expensive model gets the job done. No need to buy all the bells and whistles, unless you wish to do so.
This last one I didn't expect. The dental hygienist was able to tell me which of my hands is dominant by looking at my gums. How so? I brush my teeth harder on the side that corresponds to my dominant hand! As it turns out, I brush my teeth too hard in general, which wears away gums. My new Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush should help me break this bad habit.
Another benefit of (only) sonic toothbrushes: They make 30,000 - 40,000 brush strokes per minute, compared with about 300 per minute if you brush by hand; the bristles rotate back and forth (the dental preferred way); and they remove plaque better by directing liquid and toothpaste between your teeth and below the gum line. So after returning home I ordered one.
Switching to a sonic toothbrush takes an adjustment. My first use tickled. The first day, it took me not 2 minutes to brush my teeth, but 6 minutes (i.e., 3 passes to get to all the teeth!), but soon I learned to cover all my teeth (including the backsides) in the 2 minutes the toothbrush runs before automatically shutting off. Beeps tell you to move through the teeth. Now I'm working on not spraying toothpaste on my bathroom mirror so I won't have to wipe it clean after a brush. Practice, practice, practice!
As it turns out, you can teach an old dog new tricks! New habits, better tools, cleaner teeth!
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