Healthy Oral Hygiene Habits to Have

Healthy Oral Hygiene Habits to Have
Posted on 07/06/2018
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Great oral hygiene does more than just keep your smile looking great and free from bacteria and decay, it also helps the rest of your body stay healthy by reducing the risk of infection, heart disease, and more. While the best way to maintain good oral health is a consistent regimen of brushing and flossing your teeth, it’s not the only way to keep your teeth brilliant and clean. Here at the dental office of Dr. Christian Johnson, our mission is to help everyone in the Waldorf, MD community achieve a healthy smile that lasts for a lifetime, so we’ve put together this list of healthy habits that you can adopt to give your oral hygiene a big boost.

 

Drinking Water Every Day

When you have food particles and bacteria resting on the surface of your teeth, sometimes all it takes to wash it away is a little water. While it may not get everything off of your teeth like brushing and flossing will, drinking water throughout the day will reduce the amount of bacteria on your teeth, slowing down the rate of decay. Water also contains a naturally occurring mineral called fluoride, which you may have seen as an ingredient in various toothpastes or mouth rinses. Fluoride restores essential vitamins and minerals to the enamel to make your teeth stronger and protect them from future decay.


Maintaining A Healthy Diet

Just like how a healthy diet can help keep your body healthy, there are certain foods that will strengthen your smile or even keep it clean. Fruits and vegetables that are rich in fiber like apples and carrots will actually function as a kind of brush while you’re eating them, clearing away bacteria from your teeth. Dairy products are also beneficial, such as eggs, milk, and yogurt, since they have high amounts of calcium and protein, which are both things that your teeth need a lot of to stay strong.   


Chewing Sugar Free Gum

While you may be wondering how chewing gum could possibly be good for your teeth, the key here is that it is sugar-free gum, which won’t put your teeth at risk of decay like normal gum would. Also, the gum itself isn’t really the thing that’s benefiting your teeth here, it’s actually just the act of chewing it. What happens when you chew gum is that your mouth ramps up the amount of saliva that you’re producing, since your body thinks that you need more saliva to break down food that you’re eating, but in reality it’s just some gum. Saliva also naturally clears away food particles and bacteria in your mouth, so more saliva can mean a cleaner mouth by the time you finally spit that gum out.


Never Miss Your Dental Cleanings

Even if you have the most consistent and thorough brushing and flossing routine ever, the likelihood is that you’ll still build up plaque. The fact of the matter is that brushing and flossing just can’t reach everywhere in your mouth, which is why you have your regularly scheduled visits to Dr. Johnson for a professional cleaning every 6 months. Imagine if you have one little spot behind your molar way in the back of your mouth that you miss with your brush and floss each day. No matter how hard you try, you can’t see it in the mirror, you can’t reach it, and there’s a pocket of bacteria there that is just growing and growing. If you miss your cleaning with Dr. Johnson, that bacteria gets to sit there for another 6 months, slowly eating away at your tooth. By going to both of your cleanings each year, you can make sure that your smile is as healthy as possible.


Schedule Your Visit With Dr. Johnson Today!

Here at the dental office of Dr. Christian Johnson DMD, our mission is to help you maintain a smile that will last for the rest of your life. Whether you need a professional dental cleaning, general or cosmetic dental care, or just some more tips on how to keep your smile healthy, just contact us and we’ll be happy to give you all the information you need. We’ve been serving the families of Waldorf, Brandywine, and La Plata, MD for years, and we look forward to providing you with the same quality dental care that our practice is known for.