The habit of practicing good oral hygiene should be inculcated in kids from an early age. In fact, even before kids start to walk, their parents and caretakers must start looking after their oral cavity. It gets very difficult to form new habits at an older age as compared to a much younger age. 

There is a lot more than brushing to maintain your oral hygiene; perhaps even a change in lifestyle to help look after your pearly whites. Always remember: prevention is better than cure; dentistry is not expensive but negligence is.

TIPS FOR MAINTAINING YOUR ORAL HYGIENE

Maintaining your oral hygiene is not as difficult as it is thought to be. You just have to invest in a few products and change a few habits to look after your oral cavity. One thing you must keep in mind is that kids always look up to their parents and usually get a fair share of habits from them. 

If your children see you neglecting your oral hygiene, the chances of them doing the same would be pretty high.

These tips mentioned below will help you in maintaining good oral hygiene and in helping you in getting a smaller bill at the dentist’s clinic.

1. Brushing Your Teeth

—Frequency and Timing Of Brushing
This is the foundation of practicing good oral hygiene. You must brush your teeth twice a day and not more than that. Brushing your teeth more than twice a day would slowly start causing the abrasion of the top layer of your teeth known as enamel. 

Brushing right before bed, when you are done with all your munching, and after breakfast is the best timings to brush your teeth.

—Toothbrush
There are numerous companies out there that manufacture toothbrushes. You must only opt for a toothbrush with soft bristles. Using a toothbrush with medium or hard bristles would cause the abrasion of the enamel, eventually leading to sensitivity. 

Electric toothbrushes are a good option for people who suffer from arthritis (joint problems) and other physical disabilities. However, for others, manual toothbrushes are recommended as they allow the user to be completely in charge of the time and pressure they apply. It is recommended to change your toothbrush after every 3 to 4 months.

—Toothpaste
You must use fluoridated toothpaste as they help in protecting the enamel layer of the tooth. It also helps to keep sensitivity at bay and helps in preventing tooth decay.

—Brushing Technique
Your brushing technique is more important than the frequency of brushing. Gingiva, or gums, as they are commonly referred to as, are an important supporting structure around the teeth. There is a very small pocket present between the gum and the tooth structure. 

Due to this reason, while brushing, you must place your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle on the gum and tooth junction, to help clean that pocket. Instead of brushing back and forth, you should brush in small circular motions. Also, all surfaces of the teeth, including the occlusal (chewing) surface, must be brushed to remove any accumulation of plaque on teeth.

Moreover, you must not apply excessive pressure while brushing your teeth; only gentle pressure. Brushing your teeth for at least 2 minutes is recommended. The main purpose of brushing is to remove this layer of plaque.

—Brushing your tongue
The tongue is a breeding ground for bacteria. It is covered with minute openings called taste buds. The food we eat can get stuck in these taste buds, causing halitosis (bad breath). Therefore, you must also clean your tongue, preferably with a tongue scraper. 

If you do not have one and do not wish to purchase one either, then you can brush your tongue with your toothbrush too.

2. Flossing

Flossing every day is essential as it helps to get rid of food that can get stuck between your teeth. A toothbrush cannot reach and clean in between teeth, therefore flossing is a must once a day. This would help to prevent cavities between your teeth and bad breath by removing any stuck food particles. 

You should use waxed floss to avoid any friction and trauma to the teeth. It is recommended to bring the floss down to the gum line and then moving it up and down gently. Care must be taken to not snap the floss between teeth.

3. Using Mouthwash

Mouthwash helps in freshening up your breath and helps to kill bacteria that may cause the tooth to decay. Mouthwash is not a substitute for brushing and flossing but can be used as an additional step in your oral hygiene practice. 

Dentists prescribe certain mouthwashes to patients who need them, such as patients with bleeding and inflamed gums (gingivitis). In this case, a chlorhexidine mouthwash is prescribed.

4. Visiting Your Dentist Every 6 Months

Brushing and flossing are just not enough to ensure there are no cavities or other issues in your mouth. A dentist has all the tools to examine your teeth properly and prevent any major issues from occurring. 

A filling is a small procedure and much less expensive and less painful than a root canal. An extraction is even more painful than a root canal. Therefore, diagnosis and interception at an early stage will prevent the problem from becoming bigger. It even costs less to get a small procedure, such as a filling done, than getting a major procedure, such as extraction and implant.

Moreover, you should get your scaling done at least twice a year, and more frequently if you are a smoker. Scaling is not a cosmetic procedure; neither does it make your teeth white as dental whitening does. It is a routine procedure to help maintain healthy teeth and gums. As mentioned before, there are small pockets between the tooth and the gum margin. When we eat food, it gets stuck in these pockets, and over time, causes the formation of bacteria, which when grow, release lactic acid. 

This lactic acid is responsible for causing bone loss, which causes gaps to form between teeth. With further bone loss, your teeth start to become mobile and eventually fall off. This process does not happen overnight but takes time. Thus, to prevent bone loss, you must get your scaling done. Dentists use scaler tips of various sizes to help clean these pockets, which you cannot clean thoroughly on your own at home. Scaling also helps to remove calcified plaque known as calculus. 

Calculus cannot be removed with brushing, but plaque can be removed. Calculus can only be removed by a dentist. Scaling costs much lesser than bone grafting for your jaw bone.

5. Avoiding Sticky and Sugary Foods

Sticky and sugary foods, if consumed throughout the day, are more dangerous than consuming them all at one given time. Stick to one time in a day to satisfy all your sweet tooth cravings and brush your teeth as soon as you can. Waiting for 30 minutes after eating your food is usually recommended.

Even with kids, you must apply the same policy. The lactic acid released by the bacteria creates an acidic environment for more bacteria to grow in. This bacteria is responsible for causing tooth decay, resulting in loss of tooth structure.

6. Drinking Water

Keeping your mouth wet at all times helps prevent bad breath and makes it difficult for the bacteria to grow in. A dry mouth becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, which eventually causes more tooth decay.

7. Avoid Smoking

Smoking compromises the blood flow to the teeth by causing constriction of the blood vessels. A tooth is a living structure and requires blood flow. 

Thus, this affects the self-cleansing capabilities of a tooth, making it more susceptible to tooth decay or caries. Even if you cannot quit smoking and are a chain smoker, you should visit your dentist more frequently than non-smokers.

8. Starting at an Early Age

Even before your toddler develops teeth, you must start practicing oral hygiene measures. There are soft finger toothbrushes that are available for newborns that you can use after feeding them to gently clean their gums from any residue of milk. 

Since the teeth are embedded in the gums, this is a preventative measure for causing any caries in the erupting milk teeth. When a child develops teeth, then you must make sure they do not sleep with the milk bottle in their mouths. This can cause rampant tooth decay in their milk teeth. This is known as Milk Bottle Caries and can be prevented by not giving milk bottles to babies while they are sleeping.

Once a child is around 1 year of age, you must give them a toothbrush for kids to brush their teeth with. There are plenty of yummy flavored toothpaste available that are safe for children, even if they end up swallowing it. 

You can even encourage your kids to brush their teeth by brushing in front of them or brush with them. This shows the kids how important brushing your teeth is and the chances of them implemented good oral hygiene practices are pretty high. You can even show your kids animated informative videos on oral hygiene to help build their interest.

Moreover, you should take your children to a dental clinic for routine checkups to help make them familiar with the dental setup. This would help to control their anxiety at a very early age. Dentists usually treat their child patients very cautiously and take every step to make them comfortable. 

This includes giving them stickers and badges, and even a glove filled with air, known as the “glove balloon.”

FINAL THOUGHTS

Maintaining your oral hygiene should start at an early age. Visiting your dentist at least twice a year can help solve a lot of issues before they go out of hand. Replacing teeth is too much expensive than getting an implant done.

Just as we give importance to our hygiene, our oral hygiene must be given equal importance too. Dentists do not charge us hefty amounts, but our negligence makes them charge us that big amount. Most of us have this concept that we must only visit a dentist when we have sharp shooting pain in any of our teeth. This mindset must be changed and better oral hygiene measures should be implemented.