At Horizon Family Dental Care, we are committed to helping our patients achieve a healthy smile that will last them a lifetime. If you want to improve your dental health, we can provide customized suggestions and treatment options for you during your next oral health and wellness visit. Generally, patients are able to improve their dental health by doing the following:
Practice Good Oral Hygiene Habits
Your at-home oral hygiene routine is your smile’s first line of defense against common dental concerns like tooth decay and gum disease. These dental concerns occur when plaque and tartar harden to your dental structures and begin to eat away at your healthy hard and soft tissues. Left untreated, plaque and tartar buildup can cause tooth loss or require invasive restorative care to reverse the effects.
To prevent plaque and tartar from forming in the first place, patients are advised to brush and floss at least twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. This will help reduce the amount of food residue left behind on your smile from your daily meals.
Additionally, patients should consider rinsing their mouth out with water and chewing sugar free gum throughout the day when brushing and flossing are not as convenient, especially after midday meals and snacks. The less amount of time food residue spends on your teeth, the less likely it is to harden into plaque and tartar.
Evaluate Your Diet
Your diet directly impacts your dental health. Because all of your food and beverages pass through your mouth first before reaching the rest of your body, this makes your diet especially important to your dental health. If you consume foods and beverages that are sugary, these substances are more likely to leave behind a sticky residue on your teeth and gums.
Snacks like artificially flavored candies, potato chips, and soda can coat your teeth in residue that is difficult to remove. Excessively crunchy or chewy snacks can easily cause food to become lodged in the hard-to-reach areas of your smile. It’s important to include more smile-friendly snacks into your diet. Some of our best smile-friendly snack suggestions include pita bread with hummus, chopped apples or carrots, and fruit smoothies.
Not only are these snacks delicious, but they also contain the essential vitamins and minerals that your teeth need to remain healthy and strong.
Schedule Your Routine Dental Cleanings
Even patients with the most thorough oral hygiene routines should schedule biannual dental cleanings. Dental cleanings allow experienced dental professionals to keep a close eye on your dental health and address minor issues before they develop into major dental concerns.
Many patients enjoy their dental cleanings because they get to sit back, relax, and have their teeth professionally cleaned by a dental hygienist. This stops plaque and tartar development in its tracks and gives your smile a fresh start. Patients should schedule their routine dental cleanings once every six months.
If you are looking for a dentist office in Baltimore, Clinton, Hanover, or La Plata, MD, Horizon Family Dental Care has offices in each of these locations. Please contact the office closest to you to schedule your next dental cleaning.