New Year Dental Resolutions – Our Suggestions

It’s never too late to look at improving your oral health!

Although it is traditional to make New Year resolutions around the turn of the year, we hope that you will allow us a few days grace to make a few suggestions that we feel will be beneficial to you in your efforts to have a healthier mouth in 2022. Some of these suggestions are very simple things that you can do at home, whilst others involve the professional help that we can provide at Alexandra Dental Care.

We encourage you to remember that your teeth don’t ‘heal’ in the same way that many other parts of our body do and the best thing that you can do is to prevent damage occurring in the first place. Where damage has already occurred, our Burton, Swadlincote and Ashby patients can be assured that we are on hand to help you restore them.

Without further ado then, here are some of our top suggestions to help you have healthier teeth and gums in the new year.

Check your ‘equipment’

What better time to reassess your dental equipment than the start of the new year? The most obvious thing to check is the toothbrush. Whilst we will all, hopefully, have one, the chances are that it has seen better days. A brush with worn bristles will not do the job of cleaning your teeth and gums as it should. If your bristles are worn, usually around three months maximum, it is time to replace it. The same applies with an electric toothbrush, where you need to change the head around the same period of time.

Do you have dental floss? If not, you should. Flossing between your teeth will help to remove bacteria and food that has become trapped. Only around one in five of us currently floss and it is perhaps no coincidence that it is the parts of the teeth that can’t be easily reached with a toothbrush where decay often starts. If you have some old floss lurking at the back of the cupboard, it is probably better to replace it for the best results.

Focus when cleaning your teeth

Cleaning your teeth can become a habit and one that we sometimes don’t pay enough attention to. Done properly, brushing your teeth is one of the most essential things that we do for our oral health. Set yourself a timer for 2 minutes and brush for all of this time, make sure too, to clean your gums and not just your teeth. This will help in the prevention of gum disease.

Watch those high sugar and acid drinks

The likelihood is that many of us will have eaten and drunk far too many sugary foods and drinks over the holidays. Not only is this likely to have added a few pounds to your weight,  but won’t have done your teeth any good either. Make the new year a new start and try to cut down on the amount of sugar that you consume in your diet. Take care especially to avoid, as far as possible, those high sugar fizzy drinks. Not only are these sugary but also acidic and can contribute to erosion of the protective enamel on your teeth.

Quit smoking

We have said it before and will say it again; smoking is seriously bad for your oral and general health. If you can’t stop by yourself, seek help. There are now many support and advice groups that can help you to quit this habit which can cause, amongst other things, periodontitis and mouth cancers.

Stay Hydrated

Having recommended cutting down on sugary drinks, it is important to remember that you should keep yourself well hydrated. This helps to keep our bodies functioning healthily and is also important for your gums especially. A dry mouth allows potentially harmful bacteria to thrive and if this gets out of control, gum disease is more likely. Making sure that you drink water regularly will also help to flush away sugar, bacteria and small food particles that have become trapped between your teeth.

Visit our Swadlincote dental practice regularly….

Not only should you receive an oral health examination at six monthly intervals, but we also recommend a visit to our dental hygienist at the same interval too. Both of these are essential if you want to have a healthy mouth. Your dental check up allows us to monitor your teeth in particular and to offer restoration work where applicable. Early intervention almost always means a less invasive procedure later on so please don’t put your appointment off. Seeing the hygienist is a great way of minimising the risk of gum disease. You will also receive a ‘scale and polish’; a professional oral clean that will help to keep your gums in tip top shape.

We are now open again after the Christmas and New Year break and if you would like to contact us for an appointment or for general dental advice, you can call our Swadlincote practice on 01283 216347. Happy New Year!

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