Good dental and oral care is a vital part of your great smile and offers so many benefits. So, now is the perfect time to resolve to protect your teeth.
While we at Hill Country Oral Surgery are happy, able, and highly qualified to help you with your oral surgery needs, we also hope to see you maintain positive oral health overall. To learn more about how Hill Country Oral Surgery can help you with oral surgery in Austin, TX, reach out today to schedule a consultation.
Consistent Brushing and Flossing
Regular daily care can prevent gingivitis, periodontitis, tooth decay, and halitosis. Here are some reminders for optimally removing bacterial plaque, which often causes these problems.
- Brush at least twice a day using a soft-bristle manual or electric toothbrush, sized appropriately. Hold your brush at a 45-degree angle aimed at the gum line and brush gently. Brushing your teeth too hard can cause pitting and erosion of gums. Replace your brush every 3-4 months or after a cold or other contagious illness.
- Toothpaste should be fluoridated and, if gums and teeth are sensitive, find a formula that numbs irritated nerve endings that may also cause you to avoid hot and cold foods. Many kinds of toothpaste actually help mineralize your teeth’s enamel, so choose a fortifying formula, especially if you use whitening products.
- Floss at least once a day, especially after eating. One effective alternative to flossing is the disposable soft pick with little rubbery bristles. Tiny interdental brushes also work well, especially with orthodontia. Pre-threaded floss picks can make flossing molars easy. Or consider a water-flossing device.
- Use an antimicrobial and fluoride mouth-rinse daily to improve your overall oral health.
Make Healthy Choices in your Food, Beverages, and Habits
Regular consumption of carbohydrates and acids 3-5 times a day (including snacks) creates an oral environment that nourishes tooth decaying organisms and leaches minerals, subtly pitting your enamel. One solution is to replace cookies and chips at snack time with veggies like snow peas, celery, and jicama.
Brushing and flossing after meals and snacks are the ideal solutions, but if that’s too inconvenient, flossing alternatives (see above) can help. Also, consider chewing a Xylitol-containing gum or lozenge afterward to neutralize acids and reduce bacteria and plaque buildup. You can try drinking smart water that is Ph balanced.
Recent research suggests that good bacteria may also be removed along with the bad while using mouthwash, so consider adding a probiotic or frequently eating yogurt or other foods with live cultures.
Avoid eating sticky sweets and drinking sodas, coffee, red wine, and sweet juices. Bad habits like chewing ice and hard candy, biting your nails, clenching your jaw, and grinding your teeth can damage enamel. You can help prevent gum disease and tooth loss by quitting smoking.
Stay Current with your Dental Checkups
Anomalies
We at Hill Country Oral Surgery strongly urge regular dental checkups because your dentist pays special attention to anomalies such as signs of oral cancer. A checkup will include examining your gums, tongue, neck, jaw, and lymph nodes for any swelling, lumps, or other abnormalities that could signal a major health issue. Your mouth and the surrounding area can be an important early-warning system.
By x-raying your teeth and jaw bone dental professionals can see what’s going on beneath the surfaces, such as impacted wisdom teeth, possible bone decay, swelling, cysts, or tumors. Early detection is critical and enables your surgeon at Hill Country to maximize the outcome.
Prevention
Plaque that hardens into tartar can occur despite diligent oral care, so the smart old adage about an ounce of prevention besting a pound of cure is especially true regarding dental checkups. They include thorough and professional teeth cleaning, which helps prevent decay, the erosion of gum tissues, subsequent gingivitis infections, and the loosening or loss of teeth—all of which would call for drastic treatment methods.
