If you want to maintain the health of your teeth, you should follow the tips that are listed below. You can confirm the validity of these tips by discussing them with your dentist. They are always a reliable person to take advice from when it comes to keeping your smile bright and reducing the risk of tooth decay.
1) Avoid Aggressive Brushing
People make the mistake of brushing their teeth too hard or aggressively. If you do this, your enamel will get worn away. As this pattern continues, hot and cold substances will cause your teeth and gums to be sensitive to them. Your gums might even recede too. Also, when you pick a toothbrush to use, choose a brush that has soft bristles. As you go to brush, use circular motions to brush instead of going side to side as most people do.
2) Avoid Too Many Acidic Foods
Foods with high levels of acidic content will cause your teeth’s enamel to get worn away. Your teeth need this protective layer on top to sustain their health. If the enamel is damaged completely, it will never grow back again. As a result, there will be no enamel layer to protect the nerves of your teeth and gums from hot and cold sensitivity. So, what you must do is refrain from consuming beverages and foods that have high acidic content in them. This would include lemons, oranges, gummy candies, sports drinks, wine, orange juice, and soda. And if you must consume some of these foods or beverages, at least drink water afterward to wash away the acidic content from your enamel.
3) Don’t Whiten Teeth Too Often
Everyone would like to have white teeth. As we get older, the color of our teeth will darken. However, that doesn’t mean you should use too many teeth whitening products either. The bleach in these products will wear away your enamel just like acidic foods can. That is due to the acidic content in these bleaches. They will demineralize your teeth, making them sensitive to hot and cold substances. It would be better to purchase teeth whitening products that are over-the-counter because they are not as strong as a dentist’s bleaching system. Besides, teeth are meant to be an ivory color instead of white.
4) Don’t Drink a Cold Beverage with Hot Food
The enamel on your teeth expands when you chew on hot food. But if you consume a cold drink afterward, then your enamel will start to form very tiny cracks in it. This is what causes staining and breaking of the teeth. Changes in temperature will always cause a contract and expansion effect on your teeth. It is important that this effect does not happen fast or else it will damage your teeth.
5) Pick Non-Aggressive Toothpaste
Many people don’t realize this, but toothpaste has different levels of “Relative Dentin Abrasion.” The FDA uses a scale to indicate how abrasive a toothpaste product is. If the scale has a score of more than 100, then it means the toothpaste is abrasive. If the score is above 150, then the toothpaste is very abrasive. Any toothpaste that is more than 200 should definitely be avoided. For example, the RDA scale rating for Colgate Total is 70 while Arm & Hammer Dental Care PM has a rating of 168. Your enamel will never grow back with any type of toothpaste. But you can protect your existing enamel by brushing with the right toothpaste.
6) Don’t Use Teeth for Other Things
You should only use your teeth to chew food. Do not use them to open wrappers or bite your nails. If you do, small microfractures may occur that will have long-term consequences for your teeth. Either your teeth will crack quickly, or any existing fillings will start coming out.
7) Floss and Brush Daily
It is recommended to brush your teeth 2 times per day, for 2 minutes each time. If you brush faster than this, you will still be at risk of getting cavities and possibly a jaw infection. If you are somewhere that doesn’t have a toothbrush and toothpaste, always try to keep some dental floss handy. Floss is always important because it removes the food particles from between your teeth.
/ February 20, 2019
