Dental Hygiene and Your Dentist's Role
Posted on: 18 August 2020
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Your dental hygiene is an important aspect of your day to day life. You use your mouth to eat, drink, speak and smile. These are essential activities, some of which you might not be able to live without.
Maintaining dental hygiene requires you to:
- Clean your teeth regularly
- Visit a dentist regularly and when you have a dental problem
Cleaning Your Teeth
This involves brushing your teeth at least twice a day: in the morning and at night before sleeping.
In the morning, it is recommended to brush your teeth before breakfast. If you feel that after breakfast does it for you, wait at least thirty minutes after you eat breakfast, then brush your teeth. Keeping your teeth clean also entails flossing to get rid of anything stuck between your teeth that a toothbrush might not be able to remove.
In the evening, brushing your teeth is important so that you don't give bacteria in your mouth a chance to eat away at your teeth as you sleep.
What about after lunch? Rinsing your mouth with water and flossing is okay. However, if you feel that you have to brush, brush at least thirty minutes after eating.
Visiting A Dentist
Children
As a parent, you should take your child to a pediatric dentist as soon as their first teeth start showing. This is just for assurance that your child's teeth are growing correctly. The pediatric dentist should, from that time, be in a position to create a kind of schedule indicating when you should be taking your child for regular teeth development monitoring. That way, you can rest assured that your child's teeth will develop correctly. Also, if any problem arises, it can be caught early and treated.
Adults
Monitor your teeth regularly, especially when you are brushing or cleaning them. If you notice anything unusual, for example, sensitivity, pain, holes, bleeding, discomfort, etc., visit your dentist as soon as possible.
Sometimes, waiting too long before visiting your dentist can lead to worsening of your condition. You may require an extensive and expensive treatment procedure. You might have some regrets because you could have been treated for cheaper or through a less extensive treatment procedure had you visited the dentist earlier.
Choosing a Dentist
The key factors you should consider when choosing your dentist are:
Location
The dental clinic should be located near your home or workplace for easy access.
Services offered
The dentist should offer the common dental treatments that a majority of people would require as they grow. This includes tooth extraction/removal, root canal, filling, teeth cleaning, teeth whitening, teeth alignment, dentures, etc.
License
The dentist should hold a valid license to show that he or she is qualified to offer dental services.
For more information on how to maintain dental hygiene, reach out to a local dentist.