7 Surprising Tips From Dentists For Better Dental Health

What is the first thing that most of us do when we realise that we have digestive ailments? We ensure that we seek treatment and make certain lifestyle changes to prevent them in the future, right?

Similarly, we always take measures to take care of our vital organs and general health to prevent diseases.

However, when it comes to our oral health, or dental health, many of us neglect it, as we do not link our dental health to our overall health.

Many of us are still under the impression that our teeth are only there to help us break down food and give structure to our face.

However, the health of the teeth and oral health in general have an impact on your overall health as well!

If your teeth are not healthy, you could start to experience a number of problems such as gum diseases, cavities, etc., which could create a hassle.

So, it is very important to make an effort to maintain good oral health.

Here are a few tips, as told by dentists, to help improve and maintain good dental health:

1. Don't Just Brush Your Teeth
2. Oral Health Is Linked To Major Diseases
3. Get Your Teeth Cleaned Frequently
4. Avoid Rinsing After Brushing
5. Sugar-free Drinks Can Also Damage Your Teeth
6. Avoid Alcohol
7. Get Check-ups Regularly

1. Don't Just Brush Your Teeth

Now, we know that to maintain good dental hygiene and oral health, we need to brush our teeth at least 2-3 times a day and especially once at night, before bed. However, many of us tend to brush only our teeth and neglect the rest of the area inside the mouth, such as the tongue.

Dentists say that one must also brush their tongue or use a tongue cleaner while brushing to remove the plaque accumulated, as this plaque can also cause harm to your oral health. In addition, your gums must also be cleansed.

2. Oral Health Is Linked To Major Diseases

As we read earlier, oral health has an impact over our general health too, more than we realise. Not maintaining optimum dental health can not only give rise to cavities, it is also linked to a number of diseases.

Research studies have found that cavities and gum diseases can lead to heart ailments and even Alzheimer's disease, as the veins from the mouth are directly connected to the heart and the brain and the infected blood from the mouth can reach these two organs!

3. Get Your Teeth Cleaned Frequently

When was the last time you visited a dentist to get your teeth cleaned? If the answer is "more than a few months" ago, then, you could be putting your dental health at risk.

Although we may brush and floss our teeth at home regularly, a professional cleaning at the dentists must also be done frequently, as they have specialised tools which can clean our teeth and get rid of the bacteria in places which our tooth brushes cannot reach, thus preventing impending dental ailments.

4. Avoid Rinsing After Brushing

Normally, most of us follow the procedure of brushing and immediately washing our mouth after, right? Well, dentists opine that using less amounts of toothpaste to brush and not rinsing your mouth after, allows the active ingredients in the toothpaste to kill more germs and bacteria present in the mouth.

Even when it comes to mouthwash, there is no need to rinse your mouth with water, after you are done using it!

5. Sugar-free Drinks Can Also Damage Your Teeth

We already know of the fact that foods and drinks that contain sugar can have a number of unhealthy effects, including harming our teeth; however, what we may not know is the fact that even the so-called sugar-free drinks, especially sodas and fizzy drinks can lead to cavities.

This is because most of the fizzy drinks contain carbonic acid which can damage the enamel of your teeth, when consumed frequently.

6. Avoid Alcohol

It is a known fact that consuming excess alcohol on a regular basis can harm both our mental and physiological health. Now, there is yet another addition to the list of ill-effects of alcohol.

Research studies have found that consuming alcohol, especially at the night time, can increase the risk of cavities and gum diseases, as alcohol is a fermented beverage which can cause the growth of bacteria when accumulated in the cavities of your teeth.

7. Get Check-ups Regularly

Again, just like how most of us avoid going to the dentist for regular clean-ups, we also avoid going to them, unless we have experienced a pain in a tooth or we have cavities.

However, dentists suggest that regardless of pain and the presence of dental ailments, it is necessary to get dental check-ups regularly, as your dentist can detect the presence of cavities, gum diseases and even oral cancer in their early stages and prevent them from worsening!