HOW TO MAINTAIN ORAL HEALTH
Healthy teeth and mouth are very important. Do you remember this song…
‘This is the way I brush my teeth, brush my teeth, brush my teeth, this is the way I brush my teeth early in the morning’.
How do you brush your teeth? Do you use fluoride toothpaste? What is the condition of your toothbrush? These are questions we would leave you to answer.
When you wake up in the morning one of the things you do is to brush your teeth and the last thing you do at night but not everyone brushes their teeth at night and this is not good at all.
What is the mouth?
The mouth is also called the oral cavity through which food and air enter the body. It is made up of the teeth, tongue, gums, salivary glands, upper and lower jaw, etc.
In this article, we would focus on how to keep your teeth and mouth healthy. You have to keep your mouth clean to avoid tooth decay and mouth odor.
To keep your mouth and teeth healthy you need to brush your teeth twice daily making use of fluoride toothpaste. Tooth brushing prevents plaque from building up on your teeth.
What is plaque?
Plaque is a film of bacteria that coats your teeth If you don’t brush them properly and it contributes to tooth decay and gum diseases.
When brushing your teeth you should open your mouth and brush all the surfaces of your teeth (inside surfaces, outside surfaces, and the chewing surface of your teeth).
NOTE; Don’t rinse your mouth with water after brushing, this is a mistake most of us make. After brushing, spit out any excess toothpaste. Rinsing your mouth after brushing could wash away the concentrated fluoride in the remaining toothpaste and reduce its preventative effect.
In one of the articles, we talked about a smile, to give a beautiful smile our mouth and teeth must be clean to make the smile an attractive one. Imagine smiling at someone and the person giving an irritating look because of the condition of your teeth, will you be happy?
Here are some mistakes you need to avoid while brushing your mouth;
- Brushing your teeth more than twice a day could actually damage the gum and erode the enamel on your teeth.
- Not cleaning your tongue; You clean your tongue to avoid bad breath and remove bacteria.
- Rinsing your mouth with water after brushing your teeth.
- Make use of your toothbrush for a long period of time; Your toothbrush should be used only for three months.
- Not brushing your teeth long enough; The time duration of r brushing your teeth should be at least 2 minutes, anything less than 2 minutes is not good enough cause it doesn’t give the fluoride in your toothpaste enough time to attach to the enamel of your tooth.
Always keep your mouth healthy by brushing twice a day and smiling.