If you don’t know much about dental health, you may think that all you need to do to have healthy teeth is to brush twice a day. While this is an important step in your routine, it’s not the only thing you need to do to have good dental health.
Read on to learn why brushing isn’t enough for good teeth.
What You Eat Matters
As important as it is to brush your teeth twice a day, you need to do more than just that to maintain good dental health. One of the things that can most influence your dental health is the food you eat. Your teeth have direct contact with the food you eat, and some of it can be harmful for your teeth. One example that many dentists cite is hard or sticky candies.
Things like lollipops and caramels can leave behind sugary deposits in your mouth that increase your chances of cavities and other issues. Hard candies can also break and chip your teeth. It’s best to avoid them overall.
You Need Other Dental Tools
Another thing you need to do to have good dental health is utilize other dental tools. Toothbrushes are great tools for getting germs off your teeth, but there are areas within your mouth that your toothbrush cannot clean as efficiently. For example, the areas between your teeth are where you’re most likely to get cavities.
Flossing can help you get the food residue and bacteria out of these areas more efficiently than a toothbrush, which is why combining the two is so important. Flossing is more difficult when you have braces. If you find flossing with braces difficult, you could try a water flosser or orthodontic floss instead.
May Need Orthodontic Care
Even if you take perfect care of your teeth, there may be issues with your dental health that you just can’t fix by brushing and flossing. For example, if you have alignment issues with your teeth or jaw, these need to be fixed with orthodontic treatment. Seeking this treatment can help you with anything from bite sensitivity to appearance to headaches. When you seek this care, meet with an orthodontist to discuss what type of treatment would be most beneficial for you and your wants. Then, you can work with that professional to set up a treatment plan that allows you to achieve your desired results. Once you’ve completed the treatment, you still need to regularly wear your retainer to keep the results.
Taking care of your dental health involves a lot more than brushing your teeth. While brushing your teeth is incredibly important, there are other steps you need to take to ensure that your dental health is as good as it can be. These are a few reasons why you need to do more than just brush your teeth to have good dental health.
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