Five Steps to Good Oral Health

Five Steps to Good Oral Health

As part of a healthy lifestyle and to help reduce the risk of oral disease, follow these 5 steps to good oral health.

1. SEE YOUR DENTIST REGULARLY

Regular checkups and professional cleanings are the best way to prevent problems or to stop small problems from getting worse. Your dentist will look for signs of oral disease. Oral diseases often go unnoticed and may lead to or be a sign of serious health problems in other parts of the body.

2. KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLEAN

Using a soft-bristle toothbrush, brush your teeth and tongue at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque and bacteria that cause cavities and periodontal disease (gum disease). Floss every day. If you don't floss, you are missing more than a third of your tooth surface.

When choosing oral care products, look for the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) Seal of Recognition. Oral care products that have earned the Seal of Recognition have been reviewed by CDA and will effectively contribute to your oral health.

3. EAT, DRINK, BUT BE WARY

Healthy food is good for your general health and your oral health. The nutrients that come from healthy foods help you to fight cavities and gum disease. mLimit how much and how often you consume foods and beverages that contain sugar. Sugar is one of the main causes of dental problems. Limit your consumption of foods and beverages that are high in acid. The acid may play a part in causing dental erosion.

4. CHECK YOUR MOUTH REGULARLY

Look for warning signs of periodontal disease (gum disease). Gum disease is one of the main reasons why adults lose their teeth. The warning signs include: Red, shiny, puffy, sore or sensitive gums; Bleeding when you brush or floss; Bad breath that won't go away; Loose or sensitive teeth; Change in the colour of your gums; Receding gums

Look for warning signs of oral cancer. The three most common sites for oral cancer are the sides and bottom of your tongue and the floor of your mouth. The warning signs include: Bleeding that you can't explain; Open sores that don't heal within 7 to 10 days; White or red patches; Numbness or tingling; Small lumps and thickening on the sides or bottom of your tongue, the floor or roof of your mouth, the inside of your cheeks or on your gums.

Tell your dentist if you have dry mouth, a sore mouth or burning mouth syndrome.

5. AVOID ALL TOBACCO PRODUCTS

Stained and missing teeth, infected gums and bad breath are just some of the ways smoking can affect your oral health. Besides ruining your smile, smoking can cause oral cancer, heart disease and a variety of other cancers, all of which can kill you.

All forms of tobacco are dangerous to your oral health and your overall health, not just cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco such as chewing tobacco, snuff and snus can cause mouth, tongue and lip cancer and can be more addictive than cigarettes.

If you use tobacco products, ask your dentist and your family doctor for advice on how to quit. If you take care of your teeth and gums at home and visit your dentist regularly, your smile should last you a lifetime. Your oral health is good for life. As any parent knows, getting kids excited about anything that isn't the latest toy or gadget is a hard sell. When it comes to getting kids excited about personal grooming habits, parents know the task is even taller than usual.

Perhaps no grooming habit has proven more of a challenge over the years than proper dental care. As hard as parents may try, kids seem to have an innate aversion to brushing their teeth. Recognizing that, we offer parents the following tips to get kids excited about taking care of their teeth.

MAKE BRUSHING FUN:

Even parents can admit that brushing your teeth isn't the most fun thing a person does every day. However, that doesn't mean this morning and nightly ritual can't be spiced up with a little creativity. You can add some dazzle to dental care. The Firefly was created by taking the LCD light out of a pair of fancy sneakers and placing it in the bottom of a regular toothbrush. After some more thorough research and development, the Firefly(R) was born.

Employing the same blinking technology used in a pair of sneakers, the Firefly blinks for 60 seconds, instilling the dentist-recommended one-minute per arch brushing routine, but doing it in a way that's fun for kids.

TAKE THE HURT OUT OF BRUSHING:

One of the foremost reasons many kids don't like brushing or even trips to the dentist is the pain principle.

Kids, and even adults, often associate dental care or dental visits with pain.

That's why dentists recommend parents go gentle on young gums. A brush with soft and individually rounded bristles, is the perfect way to comfortable dental care.

START EARLY:

Good dental care habits start at a young age. Unfortunately, so do bad ones, emphasizing the importance of reinforcing proper dental habits in children as early as possible. Studies have shown that childhood tooth decay is reaching an epidemic level in North America, and it's been well documented that cavities in baby teeth set the stage for cavities in adult teeth.

Dental professionals recommend replacing a toothbrush once every three months.

By giving kids a new, bright and blinking toothbrush when the light stops blinking, you can renew kids' interest in brushing their teeth simply by following your dentist's guidelines.

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Five Steps to Good Oral Health

Source: The Post - Ontario - Hanover,Canada - http://www.thepost.on.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1508449

Copyright 2009