Who doesn’t love a big, beautiful, healthy smile? If you are brushing your teeth every morning and evening, you may think you are doing enough to protect your teeth, but proper oral hygiene goes way beyond regular brushing.
The truth is that most adults aren’t properly taking care of their pearly whites. Is it laziness? Lack of knowledge? Whatever it is, we are here to outline the ideal daily oral hygiene routine and give you some special tips. If you understand proper brushing techniques, you can learn how to maintain beautiful and healthy teeth.
Tips for Good Oral Hygiene:
Brush twice a day
If you aren’t doing this already, start! Brushing your teeth only once a day is not nearly enough to keep your teeth strong and healthy. On the other hand, you want to avoid brushing your teeth too often because that can damage your enamel.
Flossing is your friend
Flossing can be tedious at times, but it is absolutely necessary for maintaining healthy teeth and gums! Be sure to floss once a day. Again, make sure not to floss too hard or it can have reverse effects and actually hurt your gums.
Give yourself 2-3 minutes after brushing to rinse out your mouth
This is a little bit of a weird one, but if you immediately rinse your mouth out, you aren’t allowing the fluoride in the toothpaste to do its job. So give yourself a couple of minutes to allow the fluoride to work its magic before rinsing!
Switch to an electric toothbrush or a soft bristle brush
Electric and soft bristle brushes help you apply the right amount of pressure to your teeth and gums without being too aggressive. Electric toothbrushes can also help train your brushing technique.
Replace your toothbrush
You should be replacing your toothbrush about every 2-3 months—sooner if the brush is already starting to look wild and frayed. Try to go green by purchasing bamboo handle (biodegradable) toothbrushes.
Use mouthwash
Brushing your teeth doesn’t get rid of all the bacteria in your mouth. Use mouthwash to ensure that you’re killing as many teeth-harming germs and bacteria as possible!
Coconut oil rinse
Oil pulling is an ancient practice used to maintain healthy teeth. It is believed that rinsing your mouth with oils like coconut oil or sunflower seed oil can help strip the bacteria off the surface of your teeth. A little goes a long way, so you just need a teaspoon! Go ahead and swish the oil around your mouth for 10 minutes before rinsing it out. Do not swallow the oil, spit it out and rinse your mouth with warm water.
Eat teeth-whitening foods
Yes, you read that right. There are foods out there that can help keep your teeth nice and white! Teeth-friendly foods include but are not limited to – celery, cucumbers, apples, pears, carrots, oranges, pineapples, and lettuce.
Avoid sugary drinks
This is kind of a no brainer: when you overexpose your teeth to sugary drinks, that sugar metabolizes into lactic acid, which damages your teeth and leads to cavities.
Incorporate gum into your routine
Something you probably didn’t know—gum can help keep your teeth healthy! Sugar-free gum after a meal can help reduce the amount of germs and bacteria in your mouth. Plus, the stimulation of saliva helps maintain healthy enamel on your teeth.