Thanksgiving is an especially happy time of year as you reflect on the year and all its goodness. Families far and wide come together to express their gratefulness through sharing their bounty together. Meal times become bonding times, and as a result, you find yourself eating a greater variety of food than usual. It is important to maintain dental hygiene while celebrating. Here are some tips to help you.
1. Brush Your Teeth Properly
The foundation of good dental hygiene is always proper brushing of teeth. You should brush your teeth twice a day as recommended by dentists. Ideally, this should be once in the morning and once before going to sleep at night.
When brushing your teeth, you need to use the right technique as well to get the best results. Use gentle, circular motions around your teeth for optimal cleaning results. Ensure that your brushing regimen spans two minutes as recommended by dentists to achieve the highest levels of hygiene. Note that aggressively brushing your teeth can hurt your enamel and gums and therefore, you should avoid it. Always use gentle brush strokes.
2. Floss Your Teeth After Brushing
While many people understand the need for a regular tooth brushing regimen, they overlook the importance of flossing after brushing. Flossing is the second most effective means of cleaning your teeth after brushing.
Food particles get wedged between your teeth. Although you brush your teeth, the bristles cannot reach in between them, and as a result, these particles and bacteria that are also present are not being cleaned. Flossing reaches these problematic parts of the teeth to clean them out and is, therefore, an essential companion to brushing your teeth. To best clean your teeth, run the floss alongside your teeth gently.
3. Drink Lots of Water Regularly
Thanksgiving, like any other holiday, leads to eating more food than we usually do during different times of the year. Inevitably this leads to more bacteria in our teeth. Drinking water throughout the day helps to clean out the bacteria from your teeth. Another perk of drinking water throughout the day is that it increases your saliva content. This is also good in fighting the bacteria in your mouth. To know just how much water you need to drink, take your weight in pounds and divide it by two to get the approximate number of ounces necessary.
4. Reduce Sugary and Starchy Foods
Holidays such as Thanksgiving often lead to people losing the reins on their eating habits to celebrate with family and friends. The likelihood of consuming more starchy and sugary foods than you typically would is therefore high.
Eating them in excess will adversely affect your dental health. Once the foods stick to your teeth, they provide the fuel bacteria need to produce the acids that cause tooth decay. As a result, during Thanksgiving, it's prudent to remember to ingest starchy and sugary foods as treats to curb this.
5. Clean Your Tongue, Too
Your tongue is another area in your mouth that harbors a host of bacteria. If you clean your teeth and floss them but leave out your tongue, you leave a bevy of bacteria in your mouth. This undermines your dental hygiene efforts. When brushing your teeth, make it a habit of also brushing your tongue. The best way to clean the tongue is to brush it from the back to the front gently. Side-to-side brushing is also necessary for proper cleaning. Rinse your mouth out after you are done to wash away the bacteria.
6. Buy a Toothbrush with Soft Bristles
As you head into the Thanksgiving season, inspect your toothbrush to find out if it has hard bristles. Despite what many people might think, hard bristles do not make for a more efficient tooth brushing effort. The effect is quite the opposite. Hard brush bristles damage your enamel and gum by eroding it. If your toothbrush has hard bristles, you should replace it with one that has soft bristles to protect your gum and enamel.
7. Replace Your Worn-Out Toothbrush
If you have been using your toothbrush for a long time, Thanksgiving is a good time to consider replacing it. Worn out bristles do not clean the teeth correctly due to fraying and weakening. Dentists recommend replacing your toothbrush every three to six months as good practice.
8. Stop the Smoking Habit
Cigarette smoking is harmful to your dental health as it increases your risk of gum diseases by 50 percent. Consider quitting the habit during the holiday to reduce your chances of getting gum disease.
The Thanksgiving holiday is a time of mirth and gratefulness. Many celebrate by sharing food and good times with loved ones which expose them to various dental risks. Clean your teeth by using several ideas that work in concert to promote your dental health.
About the Author
Dr. Marichia Attala is a leading Periodontist in Nassau County Long Island. Learn more by visiting her website at NassauCountyPeriodontist.com
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