Dental hygiene is vital to a person’s quality of life. The problem with a lot of tooth problems though is that they often start slowly and painlessly and aren’t noticed until they become painful. One of the best things that smart Canadians can do to avoid dental health issues from sneaking up, is to visit their local dentist in Toronto every six months.
If you have problem teeth you can suffer from many of the following:
- tooth sensitivity
- gum disease
- embarrassment over unhealthy looking teeth and bad breath
- difficulty and loss of the enjoyment of eating
- tooth discoloration
- tooth pain varying from mild, intermittent pain to extreme constant pain
- tooth loss
Brush and Floss
So the most important things you can do for your teeth are brushing your teeth, gums and tongue at least twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste or gel and rinse your mouth several times when you’re done.
Whenever you can’t brush, try to rinse your mouth after eating.
Floss your teeth regularly – many people think that if they brush well they can get away with not flossing their teeth – but this is not the case. By not flossing your teeth, you miss cleaning a third of their surface and in the most important areas – because it’s between your teeth that food and bacteria can get trapped and cause damage.
Diet
Your professional dentist in Toronto will vouch for the fact that diet is also important in the maintenance and care of teeth.
The most obvious dietary modification you should make is to avoid consuming too much sugar. Nowadays sugar is in most foods and drink, especially in processed foods and beverages. The reason sugar is harmful is because when combined with oral bacteria the sugar forms a kind of acid that helps to eat away your tooth enamel – the hard substance that protects your teeth from decay.
You should especially try to avoid drinking or eating anything that contains liquid/invert sugar and sticky foods that contain sugar as these tend to have more staying power on your teeth, allowing more time to encourage tooth decay. To find out more about which foods are harmful and which foods you can eat that help support the health of your teeth and gums ask your dentist in Toronto.
