Tips To Help You Promote And Maintain The Health Of Your Gums And Teeth
Making sure your teeth and gums are healthy is important, as your oral health can affect the health of your entire body. Here are some tips to help you promote and maintain your oral health.
Participate in Regular Self- and Professional Dental Care
It is important that you take care of your oral health by keeping your teeth clean by brushing and flossing regularly. It is recommended that you brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss between your teeth each day. This practice helps to remove the plaque buildup on and between your teeth.
If you don't remove the plaque, it can harden into tartar within 24 to 48 hours and can only be removed by your dentist scraping it from your teeth. Tartar left on your teeth can irritate and inflame your gums and cause your gums to recede and become infected, and can also cause your teeth to decay.
As an additional oral health maintenance, it is recommended that you see your dentist every six months. Your dentist will check for any cavities or gingivitis and clean your teeth of any hardened tartar. Dental cleanings at your six-month checkup gives your dentist a chance to clean your teeth of any film and material buildup you miss during your daily cleanings. If you have diabetes or periodontal disease, your dentist may want you to get a cleaning and checkup more often than twice a year.
Use Natural Remedies for Your Oral Health
Practice Oil Pulling
One option as a natural oral health remedy is to practice oil pulling. To practice oil pulling each day, put a spoonful of organic coconut oil into your mouth and allow the oil to melt. Then, over the next 20 minutes, swish the oil around inside your mouth, moving it under your tongue and between your gums and teeth. After 20 minutes, spit the oil out into the trash, rinse your mouth with water, then brush your teeth as normal.
Coconut oil helps fight off the harmful bacteria that can live inside your mouth that cause cavities and gum disease. Then, the coconut oil helps remove plaque and other toxins from your mouth. Oil pulling can also reduce the sensitivity in your teeth, make them appear whiter, and improve the health of your gums.
Take More Vitamin C
Studies have shown that not getting enough vitamin C can cause you to be more likely to have poor gum health leading to gum disease. These studies have shown that increasing your intake of vitamin C can help fight off gum disease, which can lead to bone and tooth loss. It is recommended that you make sure you get at least 180 mg of vitamin C every day, which helps speed up the healing of your bones and teeth.
Foods that have higher amounts of vitamin C includes citrus fruits, kale, Brussel sprouts, kiwi, and broccoli. You can also take a vitamin C supplement if you are not able to eat enough vitamin C-rich foods each day.
Eat Garlic
Garlic contains high amounts of allicin, which has antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. Allicin prevents the bad bacteria from thriving in your mouth and allows the good bacteria to thrive. Chew on a clove of garlic every day, keeping your mouth open (so you can breathe through your mouth to help combat the taste), or add garlic to your food, in salads, and vegetables. As an added benefit, garlic helps boost your immune system, which can help you get over colds and other viruses faster.
If you aren't a fan of the taste of garlic, you can take an allicin supplement each day.
Use these tips to help keep your teeth and gums healthy. For more information, check out websites like http://tlcdentalohio.com.
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