Your oral health is a vital component of your overall health, and ignoring it will always come with very devastating consequences. There is more to taking care of your oral hygiene than just the normal brushing and flossing your teeth for the perfect bright smile. It is also sad to observe that most people are so reckless with their dental hygiene that they end up making certain mistakes unknowingly which will ultimately force them to make an appointment with one of the dentists in Phoenix, AZ.
If you want to avoid many appointments with the dentist and have relative peace and calm with your teeth, then you must know how to take good care of your oral health, and most importantly, you must avoid the following mistakes you have been making as far as your oral hygiene is concerned.
You have formed bad habits detrimental to your dental health
There are certain bad habits that every dentist wishes you don’t form for the sake of your oral health. One of them is smoking. Smoking is not just dangerous for your lungs and arteries, but it also has the ability to cause a lot of harm to your oral cavities, leading to a myriad of dental health complications.
Additionally, smoking will have an impact on your breath for as long as you will be smoking – you will have to endure a stench of a breath and you wouldn’t wish to move too close to people or hold very close conversations because of your disgusting breath.
You don’t remove what’s between your teeth
Brushing your teeth is never the ultimate practice you can observe for your dental health. You always take a step further to ensure you deal with what remains between your teeth once you are done with the brushing. For example, there are a total of five surfaces on your molars which needs to be cleaned but are rarely cleaned with the normal brushing. These are the sites where plaque and bacteria gradually develop and if they are not removed in good time, they may soon cause a variety of diseases, including sensitivity issues. The best way to deal with them is through regular dental flossing and using interdental brushes for cleaning your teeth.
You don’t clean or replace your toothbrush
It is recommended that you should replace your toothbrush once every three months or when the bristles begin to bend. For those who are fond of visiting a dentist in Phoenix, AZ, you will always come home with a new brush after every visit. However, there are millions of people who will never replace their toothbrush until all the bristles have all died out. Additionally, they don’t know how to clean their toothbrushes.
To them, splashing water after brushing is sufficient to clean their brushes. To begin with, it is imperative to not overuse your toothbrush and replace it as recommended. Using a brush with bent bristles will not help you in any way since the bristles are unable to clean effectively between the teeth. Additionally, if you don’t know how to clean your toothbrush, it will soon turn into a breeding ground for bacteria which will ultimately end up hurting your teeth.
Ignoring subtle warning signs
The secret to avoiding a lot of problems with your teeth is to know when you are beginning to develop issues. There are certain signs you should always watch out for and seek medical assistance immediately. Things like bleeding gums, sharp pains when you take hot or cold drinks, and discomfort in the molars should never be ignored. Sometimes the pain isn’t a lot, not persistent and it you barely feel it and so you think it is nothing serious. It is this kind of ignorance that leads to serious dental problems that lead to a lot of pain and suffering among the patients.
Not using toothpaste containing fluoride
If you want to reduce the risks of tooth decay, then you have every reason to take a second look at the kind of toothpaste you use for brushing your teeth. If the toothpaste you have been using doesn’t contain fluoride, then you already are on a collision course with your oral health. Fluoride is the chemical needed to combat the dangers of tooth decay. Irrespective of the toothpaste brand you choose, always ensure that it contains fluoride so that you don’t just benefit from white clean teeth, but also you evade the consequences of living with decayed teeth.
Brushing your teeth after coffee
Most people know that coffee is not good for the teeth because it leaves stains that may be stubborn to remove thereafter. Consequently, most people think that the best way to combat this is to brush their teeth immediately after taking coffee. This is a very huge mistake, and instead of helping your teeth and keeping them healthy, you will be subjecting them to more danger. This is because coffee is acidic and if you brush your teeth immediately after drinking, you will be doing a lot of damage to the enamel. If you have to brush your teeth after taking a cup of coffee, it is recommended that you wait for at least thirty minutes so that the acidity in your mouth can normalize. If you feel you have to clean your teeth immediately after the coffee, then simply rinse with clean water or use a fluoride mouth rinse.
Missing dental appointments
The majority of people will not see the need to walk into a dentist’s office for regular checkups unless they feel pain in their teeth. This is due to ignorance and it will always be very costly in the long run. The dental checkups are designed to ensure that your general dental health is okay. They give your dentist a chance to check that you are on the right path, and if there are any issues, they will be identified in good time before they become serious concerns. But if you miss the checkups, you expose yourself to greater risks, more pain and the possibility of painful procedures such as tooth extraction due to decay.
