Tips To Maintain Dental Health At Home

1. Brush your teeth properly – Brush your teeth for 3 to 4 minutes in the morning and before getting to bed at night. Use a toothbrush with soft or medium bristles preferably and one that has a flexible handle. Use cream type toothpaste if you can -gel based toothpastes can be a little abrasive. Use upward to downward strokes for the upper teeth and vice versa for your lower teeth. Focus on two to three teeth at a time.
2. Floss after every meal – It’s really important to remove any food remnants from in-between your teeth after every meal. Trapped food particles attract bacteria and increase chances of decay. Flossing helps remove food particles trapped between the teeth and significantly reduces the chance of tooth decay.
3. Try not to use hard toothpicks, fingernails or safety pins to remove food particles lodged between your teeth. They can or hurt the surrounding gum tissue. Use a regular brush, floss or an inter dental brush instead.
4. Clean your tongue -clean your tongue with your toothbrush after you finish brushing your teeth. This helps remove food residue and bacteria from the tongue, giving you fresher breath. Avoid using tongue cleaners made of stainless steel as they can damage the taste buds.
5. Removable dental appliances such as dentures should be cleaned daily with cleaning solutions or tablets.
6. Keep the toothbrush and floss at least 6 feet away from the toilet. Toilets let out fine aerosol spray every time they are flushed and the droplets can land on your toothbrush, contaminating them with germs. Ensure insects aren’t able to reach your brush. Wash your brush with mildly warm water before using it.
7. A balanced diet is essential to maintaining your oral and overall health. Eat a diet that’s rich in fruits and green vegetables. Limit your alcohol consumption and avoid smoking.
8. Take out 30 minutes for daily workouts. Get some sunlight every day. Sleep well.
9. Avoid or manage your stress with stress reducing lifestyle choices and exercises. Stress, especially during the lock down, can lead to health problems such as a dry mouth, mouth ulcers and jaw joint issues due to teeth grinding at night or gum disease.

If you are experiencing a toothache, swelling or an ulcer, or if you have sore or bleeding gums, contact your dentist to get advice. Avoid self-medication – it may potentially do more harm than good. This is especially true for antibiotic use. Only use antibiotics to manage toothache or gum issues when prescribed by your dentist. Antibiotics kill good bacteria in the gut and overuse can lead to antibody resistance to take hold.