ORAL HEALTH CARE

We are so busy in our running life that we don’t give good care to our most important yet neglected ”oral care”.A beautiful smile reflects our calm and composed lifestyle. Oral health issues are equally important as compared to other health issues. We generally rush to our dentist only when we feel discomfort or pain while enjoying our lifestyle, till then it’s too late to save it in the initial stage. Oral care is needed at every stage of human life starting from the gum pad stage until the denture Stage. Oral care includes practicing keeping our teeth, gums, and tongue clean and free of microbial disease and other problems  (e.g dental caries, bad breath, gum diseases)by regular brushing and cleaning with proper guidelines as a brush with rush can harm your hard as well as soft oral tissues.

Basic things to be kept in mind while maintaining tooth care :

1) Brushing

2) Flossing

3) Rinsing

4) Tongue cleaning

5) Eating healthy and right

6) Dental check-up

BRUSHING

Child brushing

• We should brush twice a day for two minutes with soft bristles.

• The brushing technique is different for children and adults, the technique should be consulted with your respective dentist.

• Bristles have to be soft or ultra-soft and need to be able to bend properly so that they can reach thoroughly to every corner of the mouth.

• People think that the harder the bristles are, the more they “clean” but that’s not true as a brush with hard bristles can wear off your tooth structure which can further lead to sensitivity, redness, and swelling in the gums area.

• We can use a standard brush or electric but it needs to be handled with care.

• In infants gum pads should be gently cleaned with a fingertip after breastfeeding.

• Toothpaste is an abrasive aid used for removing dental plaque accumulated around teeth and suppresses halitosis. Flouride-containing toothpaste should be used, but the level of fluoride should be consulted with dentists as per body need as too much fluoride can cause “Dental fluorosis”.

• Flouride basically strengthens the outer structure of teeth which is enamel.

• Replace your toothbrush every three or four months if bristles are frayed.

The proper “BRUSHING TECHNIQUE” recommended are as follows:

• Keep a toothbrush at  45 degrees towards the root surface of the tooth, bristles should approach the line of every tooth and gum and wipe out debris.

• Clean the occlusal (chewing) surface by moving the brush back and forth motion and repeat on every tooth.

• The lower and upper front tooth surface should be cleaned by bending the bristle inside and outside in up and down small strokes.

• It’s difficult to ask children to maintain this technique while brushing so its parent’s responsibility to keep an eye while they are brushing or they should brush their teeth with palatable flavored and less medicated toothpaste, and should always ask them to rinse their mouth after having sticky and sugary foods.

FLOSSING

Dental flossing

• Flossing is good care for teeth and gums. Flossing can easily remove the food particles being stuck in between those areas where the toothbrush is unable to reach.

• It prevents gingivitis, developing cavities, and the building of plaque and calculus.

• There are varieties of floss present in the market for cleaning interdental areas like interdental brushes, simple floss, and water dispenser flossers.

TONGUE CLEANING

The tongue is also a major part of oral health and should be cleaned properly to reduce the activity of bacteria. If food particles get deposited on its surface and are not cleaned properly it can cause bad breath and alteration in taste bud receptors. There are many kinds of tongue cleaners or scrapers that are available in the market such as stainless steel, and plastic, some are attached toothbrushes. A clean tongue improves the sensitivity of taste buds, reduces bad breath, improves its appearance, and doesn’t allow bacteria to grow.

 RINSING 

• Rinse daily after every meal with an antibacterial mouthwash containing fluoride that prevents gum disease and bad breath.

• Should rinse 30-60 seconds thoroughly after every meal.

• It’s not mandatory to wash with mouthwash only, one can easily do” warm saline rinses” after every meal.

• “Warm saline rinse” means lukewarm water and adding a pinch of salt into it and rinse with this at any time after meal if a person is hypertensive he/she can skip adding salt.

• Gum paints can also be used to provide relief from inflamed and bleeding gums but to be consulted with the dentist first as it is applied topically to act as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory that suppresses bacterial and inflammatory dental conditions.

EATING HEALTHY AND RIGHT

• For good health and long-lasting retained natural teeth one should avoid eating sticky, sugary, rich carbohydrate diet, soft drinks, and uncooked unhealthy food as it invites bacteria to act actively and surround teeth and gum line with a layer of dental plaque which further turns into calculus which is a hard accumulation of food and not so easy to be removed by manual brushing.

• Negligence in visiting dentists can worsen your dental condition like a large deposition of plaque turning into hard deposition calculus which makes your healthy and sound teeth mobile(loosening of teeth), dental cavities, inflamed gum lines, and many other dental issues.

DENTAL CHECK-UP

• Last but not least it’s visiting your dentist every 6 months so as to have proper guidance and knowledge towards your current oral health.

• People think if a child is feeling any discomfort while chewing, or feeling pain or early shedding of deciduous teeth taking place, it’s a natural phenomenon and sooner or later they will have their permanent teeth. However, they are unaware that these milk teeth should be preserved so that permanent teeth grow at their right place in a healthy way.

• Early shedding of deciduous teeth can lead to irregular permanent teeth, and malocclusion which can change one’s smile and facial structure.

• We all keep saying ”dental treatments are expensive” but it is not true as negligence towards their care charges you. So don’t neglect either toddler, child, adult, male, female, or old age dental issues.

• If you have any bad habits like drinking alcohol and smoking you should quit for your oral health.

• Never hide any medical history or your bad habits with your dentist as all dental procedures and medicaments are specifically dependent on your these conditions.

so, at last, I just want to say that make your smile more beautiful by taking good care of your teeth and health.

KEEP SMILING AND STAY SAFE