The field work in caring for your pearly whites is still up to you even if your good old dentist can do miracles for your teeth, from whitening, fixing, filling or even replacing them! Experts insist that you watch what you put in your mouth from food to medicine, don’t chew on hard objects and consistently brush and floss your teeth. An expert in periodontics noted that the wrong habits of chewing on pencils, paper clips and the like will cause bad things to your dental health. The person that habitually puts objects in his mouth tend to put it on the exact position every time he does so.This causes damage not only on the teeth but the gum line as well since it causes the teeth to pull away from the gums.

Acidic food like citrus is one thing a lot don’t expect. People who take in a lot of citrus fruit drinks may cause unseen damage on their teeth and gums despite believing that it is good for their health. Make sure that your mouth is never dry once you start taking medicines. The saliva flow and composition naturally clean the gums and teeth but it can be reduced due to the intake of drugs like blood pressure medicines, tranquilizers, antihistamines, antidepressants, relaxants for muscles and other like substances.

He shares that those on the above mentioned medication must always rinse their mouths thoroughly right after they eat and brush their teeth. It is highly recommended to take in lots of water or chew sugarless gum or paraffin to stimulate the flow of saliva. Some people might be helped by artificial saliva, which the dentist can provide.

Times when you should brush but are not able to is when you are at a place other than your home. Rinsing the mouth vigorously after meals eaten out is a good alternative when there is no toothbrush and toothpaste. To remove all the bits of food stuck in the teeth spaces, it would be best to use water and swish it around vigorously. When you do brush, use a soft brush in a circular motion. Using a toothbrush with hard bristles or brushing the wrong way can weaken the gums and eventually destroy the overall tooth structure.

In the fight against tooth decay, dental floss is a strong tool, as said by the associate professor. Toothbrush alone might not be enough so the dental floss come in handy to remove the dirt in between the teeth and below the gums. As long as the flossing technique used is right, using the right kind of floss would not be an issue. Make sure that the floss rubs all the sides of your teeth and then let it reach the area of the gums and continue rubbing gently as the gums resist.

The professor states that some bleeding might occur on the onset of flossing but this is nothing serious. The bleeding will stop within a couple of weeks and gum health will improve as flossing continues. It is essential to use floss daily once the permanent teeth in both adults and kids have set in. After a while, periodontal disease worsen so children are encouraged to use dental floss at an early age so that they can avoid all these problems.