Healthy, Happy Smile for the New Year
If you’ve started the New Year with a resolve to look after your health, don’t forget that your teeth are a crucial part of your ongoing health. With a little care everyday they will last just as long as you.
To help you settle back into work and school, and maintain a healthy approach to looking after your teeth we have a few suggestions.
Back to school
It is especially important to keep your child enthusiastic and motivated about caring for his or her teeth. Whether you’re teaching your children how to brush properly or taking them to the dentist for a check-up, remember that it’s up to you to set a good example.
For kids under 6, brushing your teeth together sets a good example and helps your child learn by watching and imitating you.
Brushing teeth at the end of day stops bacteria from building up overnight, preventing plaque, decay and dental caries (holes in teeth).
With kids of all ages, consider what you are putting into their lunch box. Sugary snacks are becoming a daily inclusion of many lunch boxes, yet provide so little benefit to health and teeth.
Less energy and sports drinks
They are very acidic and can cause an increase in tooth decay and sensitivity. It’s also better to drink them quickly rather than sipping them over a long period of time.
Back to work
Are you eating on the run? Coffee and take-away for breakfast, mid morning sugary snack, take away for lunch with sugary drink, mid afternoon snack followed by a beer after work or dinner with wine, and a late night snack.
All those foods lead to a bacteria party happening in your mouth overnight. Eventually you find that your teeth don’t cope with the heat of your morning coffee, or your gums are feeling tender, or your teeth just aren’t looking as white.
These minor issues are just the start of what could be much larger issues down the track. Prevention is better than cure and there’s a few steps you can do starting today:
- Brushing twice daily & flossing.
- Bring lunch and snacks from home to give you greater control over how much sugar you are eating.
- Drink water. Not only are you avoiding the high sugar drink alternatives, the fluoride in tap water helps to strengthen your teeth.
- Regular check-ups can catch small problems before they become big.
These alone though won’t fend off some of the more common dental issues such as sensitivity, dental caries and gum disease, but it will help in their prevention.
Making a sincere commitment to better dental health may require some big changes from you, but will have a life long impact on your smile, FirstBite Dental in Essendon are here to help you get your New Year and your new smile on track.