We highly recommend you speak with your dentist about any wellness changes you plan to make to your dental routine. While we did our research for this article, this is not medical advice, just some basic ideas to get your started to a healthier gumline.
We all know that dental insurance is one of the best ways to afford dental care. The price of most dental procedures is shockingly high compared to premiums and coinsurance/copay. But what if there was an additional way you could lower your dental bills?
Much like a doctor will tell you to eat right and exercise, there are plenty of “dental wellness” activities you can partake in to make sure your teeth are healthy and strong.
General Dental Wellness
When it comes to taking care of your teeth, there are two main things to worry about: your gums and your enamel. So, most of these tips are going to refer back to these two important things.
Having healthy gums is important to prevent gum disease. Gum disease is a wide range that typically refers to a bacterial infection within your gum line. Symptoms of gum disease can be as mild as bad breath or red gums, when left untreated it can progress to losing teeth, chronic pain, and a weakened immune system. You would be surprised at how many life-threatening illnesses can start from gum disease, so taking care of your gums is one of the most important things you can do.
Enamel is the coating that surrounds your teeth. It’s also something you can’t get back if your enamel gets too thin, you’re at an increased risk for cavities and tooth decay. Enamel thins due to the buildup of bacteria on your teeth, also known as plaque. Plaque produces an acidic enzyme that dissolves enamel, which is why brushing and flossing is so important!
Protecting your Gums
Flossing is by and large the most effective way to keep your gums healthy and safe. We put together an article on how to floss linked here. There are many floss aids that you can use, such as a water flosser, floss picks, and wire brushes, but nothing beats good old fashioned dental floss.
Brushing your teeth is also a great way to keep your gums healthy and safe. This is because the plaque on your teeth doesn’t just erode your enamel, it also eats away at your gum line, increasing your risk of infection. This is especially true around the bottom and sides of your teeth. Toothbrushes, fluoride toothpaste, and flossing all help remove tartar and protect your gums!
Gums, like most human tissue, like to be massaged. I’m not recommending you get a shiatsu for your gumline, but by stimulating it with floss, toothbrushes, or water flossers, you’ll increase blood flow and basically make it easier for your gums to get the necessary oxygen and nutrients from your body’s circulatory system.
By flossing every night you’ll drastically improve your gum health, protecting you from gingivitis! This will even help keep your teeth healthy by giving them a better and cleaner environment! It really is just as simple as spending 2 minutes a day flossing.
Protecting your Teeth
You’ll hear a lot about fluoride when you’re looking into teeth wellness. Is fluoride important? Yes. Do you need fluoride mouthwash and fluoride gel and fluoride supplements? Probably not. If your dentist recommends you start using one of these additional fluoride providers, that’s the time to consider it. But for most people, water, toothpaste, and food all provide enough fluoride for the teeth.
One of the less talked about, but just as important, parts of dental health is what you eat/drink. Drinking water keeps your mouth healthy by creating more saliva. Saliva helps kill germs and transfers calcium onto your teeth. Additionally, sugary and acidic foods are actually quite bad for your teeth. Sugar is what bacteria is generally after. If you eat something sugary, be sure to drink water after so none of it stays stuck on your teeth. Acid eats away at enamel, basically doing plaque’s job for it. So, drink water whenever you’re eating/drinking something acidic like soda or citrus fruits.
A chipped tooth can also lead to complications, since that basically means the enamel has been knocked off. Be sure you talk to your dentist if you grind your teeth or have chipped them in the past!
By keeping your teeth and gums healthy, you’re protecting your immune system. When it comes to wellness, having a strong immune system basically beats anything else! So, by keeping your teeth healthy, you’re going to keep your whole body healthy too.
Talk to your dentist about your gum and teeth health and see what they recommend. Hopefully, you’re already doing everything you can!