How To Maintain Oral Hygiene?

For a well-groomed woman, oral hygiene is as crucial as a flawless skin and thick, long hair. One cannot ignore it.


Imagine talking to a person who has stained teeth and a bad mouth smell. You won’t be able to stand longer than five seconds in front of such a person. Similarly, a person would like to hear and talk to you if you have nice breath and white, clean teeth.


In this article, we will offer you valuable tips to maintain oral hygiene. Oral hygiene includes cleaning and maintenance of teeth, tongue, gums, and breath.

How To Maintain Oral Hygiene?

Teeth

• Kids are often advised to brush their teeth twice a day. The same rule applies to adults. One should brush teeth in the morning and in the night before going to bed. Make it a daily ritual.
• Use a fluoride toothpaste to brush teeth as it will help in preventing cavities.
• After brushing your teeth, use a good mouthwash. A mouthwash is an effective remedy for fighting bad breath and plague. During the day, if you feel like refreshing your breath, you can do it with the help of a mouthwash. Always follow the instructions specified on the mouthwash.
• Before going to bed, floss your teeth. However, use a proper tool to do flossing. Using matchsticks or safety pins is harmful to your teeth. Learn how to floss from your dentist.
• If you don’t know how to brush your teeth properly, consult your dentist. Your dentist will show you how to brush teeth. Merely moving the brush up and down will not help in cleaning the grooves and the gaps.
• You are not supposed to brush teeth beyond two or three minutes.
• Do not forget the gums while brushing the teeth. You need to clean gums too.
• If you have weak gums or you are suffering from gingivitis, then consult a dentist immediately. You can consume more Vitamin C rich foods to make your gums strong. The dentist may also prescribe certain ointments for gums.
• Selecting a proper toothbrush is very important for your teeth. Do not purchase cheap and local-branded toothbrushes.
• It is always advisable to buy and use an electric toothbrush. If you really want to invest in a good electric toothbrush, then opt for the one with the replaceable brush head. An electric toothbrush is expensive, yet highly effective.
• You need to be gentle and slow while brushing your teeth with an electric toothbrush. Read and follow the instructions given carefully. You should not brush it roughly as it will damage your teeth.
• In case you are not comfortable in using an electric toothbrush due to certain reasons, then you may use a regular toothbrush, but an excellent quality one.
• You should replace the regular toothbrush after every two to three months for clean teeth.
• Consult a dentist every six months for scaling or preventing cavities or other dental problem.

How To Do Teeth Whitening At Home?

• A dentist will always perform a correct and proper teeth whitening treatment. If you want to skip it and do it yourself at home, here are certain tips. But prior to these treatments, consult your dentist or check whether you are allergic to certain substances.
• A paste of lemon juice, salt and baking soda will make your teeth white. You need to brush your teeth with this mixture just like you do with a toothpaste. After few minutes, rinse your mouth thoroughly with water. You may brush your teeth again with a regular toothpaste. Perform this procedure at least twice a week and you will notice the difference.
• Too much application of baking soda can result in losing teeth’s enamel. If you want to avoid baking soda application on your teeth, then apply a mixture of lemon juice and salt. It will take time but it is extremely safe for your teeth.
• Another effective treatment is the mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and salt. It should be noted that hydrogen peroxide is harmful for your health. Hence, take necessary precautions of not consuming it by any way. You need to apply this mixture on your teeth and rinse it thoroughly with water. Brush your teeth with a regular toothpaste.
• If you want to go for natural treatments, then eat fruits such as apples and strawberries on a regular basis.
• Take the peel of a banana and rub it against your teeth. Do this regularly whenever you eat a banana.
• Massaging teeth with coconut oil also brightens your teeth. However, you should never spit the oil in wash basin. Instead, spit it in a polythene bag and discard it.

Tongue

A light pink tongue is the sign of a healthy digestive system and a healthy body.

• Observe the colour of your tongue minutely. If it is white, then there is accumulation of plague and bacteria on your tongue. It is due to improper digestive system and consumption of unhealthy diet. It is an invitation to bad breath and bacterial compositions.
• When we brush our teeth, we also need to brush our tongue. You can use your toothbrush to clean your tongue.
• A tongue cleaner is an effective tool to iron out the plague and bacteria from the tongue. Mere buying is not sufficient. You need to make it as a daily ritual.

Gums

• Your gums are the foundation on which the teeth stand. Hence, your gums should be strong enough to hold the teeth for long.
• If your gums are weak, then massage it with a mixture of clove oil and water. You can also check for gum ointments in the pharmacy stores.
• Consume fresh citrus fruits such as limes, oranges, etc. to gain Vitamin C out of it.
• Take warm water and add a pinch of salt to it. Rinse your mouth with this mixture at least thrice a week. Your gums will become strong.

Breath

You have to take efforts to get a fresh breath. Though it is possible to use a mouth spray or a mouthwash, these are just quick remedies that won’t last long. If you want to gain nice, fresh breath automatically, then you will have to take concrete steps for it.

• Check your digestive system. If you have irritable bowel syndrome or your bowels are not clear, or you are constipated, it is likely to have bad breath.
• You should follow a strict diet of fresh vegetables, fruits, fibrous foods, etc. to get your digestive system intact.
• Do not consume processed foods such as chips, white bread and packaged juices.
• You should consume water-based foods such as carrots, apples, broccoli, celery, fruits, and sweet potatoes.
• Water is much essential for a better health. Drink about 7-8 glasses of water on a daily basis. Avoid excess consumption of tea, coffee, soda, etc. that leads to bad breath.
• An excellent home remedy to get rid of bad breath is to chew mint leaves daily in the morning. If you do not like the taste of mint leaves, then you can eat mint that is available in the stores instead.
• If you need a nice breath, you can also chew cardamom. Cardamom is not only good for nice breath but also for weight loss.
• Get rid of onion and garlic from your diet. Daily consumption of onion and garlic can lead to terrible bad breath.
• After every meal, rinse your mouth with water. This is important as rinsing removes the food particles from the gaps of the teeth.
• Smoking is one of the reasons for bad breath. Stop it as soon as you can. Else eat mint or use mouth sprays for a nice breath regularly.
• Sugar-free chewing gums are effective for clean teeth and nice smell.

Thus, if you take proper care of your teeth, gums, and tongue, you can have white, sparkling teeth and a nice, refreshing breath all the time.