Brushing is often regarded as the cornerstone of a good oral hygiene regimen, and that’s certainly not wrong. However brushing alone isn’t enough. If you want to ensure that your teeth remain clean and in good health you need to go the extra mile and look to other ways in which you can help keep your teeth clean on top of brushing regularly.
In particular, there are three ways in which you can improve and augment your brushing:
- Use the right toothpaste
Nowadays toothpaste comes in so many varieties that it’s hard to keep track. The only thing that you really need to focus on however is the content of fluoride in the toothpaste that you’re using. For adults the recommended fluoride content is 1,350 parts per million (ppm) and it should be labeled as such on the packaging. Although there are special toothpastes for children, any toothpaste that is around 1,350 ppm should be fine for them too.
- Consider using mouthwash
On the whole there are a lot of different opinions regarding mouthwash, but it can definitely help to prevent tooth decay. Ideally you shouldn’t use mouthwash after you’ve just brushed your teeth, and instead should use it at some other time – possibly after lunch or some other meal. If you’d rather not use alcohol-based mouthwashes they are alternatives, and a dentist should be able to recommend some and give you samples. For anyone with bad breath, antibacterial mouthwash is a good way to clear your mouth of the bacteria that is causing it.
- Make flossing a habit
It is highly recommended that flossing become a part of your daily oral hygiene regimen, and preferably you should floss right before you brush your teeth. By doing so you’ll be able to dislodge any food that is caught in between your teeth and subsequently clean and brush it off. Just visit a dentist and ask some advice on the proper flossing technique so that you will be able to thoroughly clean your teeth.
Assuming you adopt all three of these measures, your teeth should be a lot cleaner in general and your risk of other oral health issues such as tooth decay and gum disease should diminish. Along with them however, you should also be sure to always visit your dentist at least once every six months for your regular dental checkup so that any issues can be caught early before they turn into much more serious problems that could affect your health.
Of course there are quite a few other things that you could also do to improve your oral health in general – such as consuming the right foods, and adopting a healthy and wholesome lifestyle. Starting to make changes by focusing on your oral hygiene and then expanding to these other areas would be ideal and will help both your oral and general health and wellbeing in the long term if you choose to do so.
All dentists will provide sound advice, if you’re in London we can highly recommend:
Dental Smiles London
245 Pentonville Road,
London
N1 9NG
The above practice offers private dental treatment, if you’re looking for NHS dental treatments, they also have practices in Euston and Gray’s Inn.