Unless you’re a child, your set of pearly whites isn’t going to regenerate. This is the set you’ve got for life, so you should — in turn — set them up for life with thorough yet gentle dental TLC.
That said, sometimes life happens, and you may lose a tooth or two — or even the whole set — to dental trauma or tooth extraction. Sometimes, you can save the tooth; other times, you’re no match for that irreversible infection that literally crept through the cracks of a compromised white filling. Whatever the situation, restorative dental solutions are the ultimate stand-ins for the real deal. Whether you opt for single or All-On-4 dental implants, artificial teeth can be almost indistinguishable from natural teeth.
Whether you’re nursing natural teeth, relishing a restorative dental solution — such as dentures — or managing a hybrid situation, dental care is critical for maintaining tooth health. In fact, if you have artificial teeth, dental care is especially important, as replacements typically cost a lot more than a trip to the emergency dentist.
In this blog post, we share our top tips for tip-top teeth and optimal oral health. Let’s sink our teeth into it!
1. Brush Twice a Day
However obvious it may sound, the most fundamental dental care advice we can give is to brush twice a day — morning and night. In an ideal world, everyone would brush after every meal and after consuming sticky or sugary snacks. However, as a baseline, two times a day is absolutely fine.
Ultimately, it’s a balancing act, as excess brushing can wear down tooth enamel. For this reason, we would advise against brushing any more than three times in one day.
When you brush your teeth, you should do so in circular rotations rather than in side-to-side motions. Also, ensure your rotations brush the tips of your gums. Alternatively, you can use an electric toothbrush, which automates circular rotations. In fact, many dentists recommend electric toothbrushes for this reason.
As a general rule of thumb, tooth-brushing sessions should last about two minutes. You should also always use fluoride toothpaste.
2. Floss Daily
Perhaps the most neglected step of home dental care, flossing is every bit as important as brushing. While brushing removes plaque and bacteria from tooth surfaces, flossing removes those itty-bitty, problematic particles that brushes cannot reach. Oftentimes, we may talk ourselves out of flossing, reasoning that the minuteness of the particles is directly proportional to the importance of the task. However, this justification holds no weight when your dentist catches you out at your routine checkup and clean. They can always tell when you haven’t been flossing!
Think of your dental care routine as cleaning your bathroom tiles. Sure, you can polish those tiles until they’re stain-free and sparkling clean. But if you don’t knuckle down and scrub those cracks and crevices, debris and mould will build up — no matter how small it may appear.
3. Brush or Scrape Your Tongue
We think a lot about how consuming food affects our teeth — the trash compactors of this equation — but we don’t always consider the conveyor belt it comes in on: our tongues. Of course, the tongue is the surface upon which incoming food sits, so it absorbs more than you may realise. That’s why brushing or scraping your tongue is an important part of maintaining oral hygiene.
If you use non-electric toothbrushes, it may pay off to buy some with built-in tongue cleaners. You can apply these to your tongue with a gentle yet firm press. For even better results, consider investing in a tongue scraper. To use a tongue scraper, position it at the utmost back of your tongue, running it to the tip two to three times. After a good scrape, your tongue should look in shipshape, pink and pure once more.
4. Use Mouthwash
If you want to leave the sink feeling extra minty fresh, rinsing with mouthwash can be a great way to supplement your dental care routine. While some mouthwashes improve breath only, there are also many antibacterial options that assist in reducing plaque and oral bacteria. Mouthwash is a great solution — literally — as it doesn’t only target the tongue and teeth but also the entire mouth. Whether you want to optimise your home care habits or take all possible measures to bounce back from periodontal gum disease, mouthwash can either enhance existing oral health or fast-track the road to improvements.
5. See a Dentist Every 6 Months
The Australian Dental Association guidelines recommend visiting the dentist once every six months. This rule also applies in most cases of children’s dentistry. The only exception to this rule is when you have an ongoing dental issue requiring more frequent check-ins. Otherwise, a checkup and clean appointment twice a year is enough to ensure everything’s looking healthy.
What happens when the dentist checks up on and cleans your mouth? Basically, they examine your teeth — usually both externally and with an X-ray — to ensure there are no signs of decay, damage, or wear and tear. They will also check your gums and mouth as a whole for signs of gum disease. Finally, once they’ve ‘checked up’ on your mouth health, they will proceed to ‘clean’ your teeth, removing stains and the more stubborn plaque that usual home care can’t eradicate. In essence, they give your mouth a professional deep clean.
(Please note that a dental cleaning is not the same procedure as teeth whitening, which is a cosmetic treatment for removing deep-seated stains. While a dental cleaning will remove surface staining, its objective is to preserve dental health rather than to achieve a picturesque smile. If you want to rid yourself of some more stubborn stains, we recommend looking into Zoom teeth whitening.)
At the conclusion of your appointment, your dentist may give you some preventative advice that you can apply to your home dental routine. For example, they may recommend a better brushing technique or that you floss more regularly. Otherwise, unless they catch a serious dental issue, they will likely affirm your current home care habits and encourage you to keep up the great work. Overall, a checkup and clean is a professional once-over that either provides peace of mind or helps you prevent or catch issues early.
Choose Stanley St. Dental
If it’s been a while since your last checkup and clean, why not start afresh with Stanley St. Dental? As a holistic dentist, we pride ourselves on a humanistic approach that sees the person first and the problem second. Rather than zooming in on that one toothache, we take your whole health into account. For example, if we notice signs of bruxism (teeth grinding), our first port of call would be to determine if it’s linked to sleep apnea.
Because we are so human-first, we are compassionate towards patients with dental anxiety, offering the option of sleep dentistry for those who need it. From a value perspective, we also accept many different health funds and partnerships.
So, what are you waiting for? Choose the dentist who puts you first. Choose Stanley St. Dental!