Tips & Tricks ❤
Tip 1. Brushing Teeth
The correct way to brush your teeth.Tip 2.
Neutralizing the Acids from food, drinks, and plaque is essential to reducing odor and decreasing the breakdown of tooth structure and contributing to gum disease.
When it is impossible to brush your teeth, consider chewing gum that has XYlLITOL as it's 1st or 2nd ingredient. The bacteria that cause tooth decay cannot digest xylitol and therefore will fail to thrive in the new microenvironment. While this is no substitute for proper toothbrushing and flossing daily, it will help to decrease the acid by increasing salivary flow to bring your oral pH back to neutral and have a deleterious effect on the bacteria that cause tooth decay, mainly Streptococcus Mutans.
Tip 3.
Another Acid reducing tactic: Swishing and rinsing your teeth and mouth with water several times a day will reduce the build up of acid and decrease the build up of the plaque that destroys your teeth. This can be done anywhere as drinking water is an acceptable activity in almost any situation. Just remember to swish around all your teeth before you swallow.
Fighting Tooth Decay
TOOTH DECAY is a complex disease process caused by bacteria and mediated by several factors.
We all have decay-causing bacteria that weaken our teeth by feeding off the carbohydrates we eat. We can fight decay-causing bacteria by focusing on five key factors.
1 EATING VS. SNACKING
Carbohydrates are the leading cause of tooth decay. Bacteria convert food to acid, which causes decay. The number of times you eat per day is more important than how much you eat. For example:
GOOD: Eating a family-size bag of M&Ms at one time
BAD: Snacking on one M&M every 20 minutes for the whole day
Citric acid, a common ingredient used to add flavor and preserve products, also contributes to tooth decay by washing the calcium out of your teeth and weakening them.
REDUCE the number of times per day that you eat any type of carbohydrates. AVOID foods containing citric acid.
| COMMON CAVITY CAUSERS | CALCIUM KILLERS | NO-DECAY FOODS |
|---|---|---|
|
– Bread – Potato chips – Granola bars – Dried fruit – Honey – Coconut water – Sports drinks, soda, and juice |
– Diet soda – Lemon juice – Salad dressing – Pickles – Sports drinks – Many healthy fruits – Wine |
– Nuts – Cheese – Meat – Milk – Eggs – Vodka – Beer |
2. FLUORIDE
Fluoride helps make your teeth more resistant to the decay process. You can get fluoride in toothpastes, mouth rinses, and varnishes.
VARNISH your teeth with fluoride two to four times per year at the dentist.
RINSE with a 0.05% sodium fluoride mouth rinse at bedtime to boost your tooth protection.
Look for “anti-cavity” on the mouth rinse label.
3. SILVER DIAMINE FLUORIDE
Silver Diamine Fluoride reverses tooth decay. This is newly available in the U.S., and has been used safely worldwide for decades.
4. SALIVA
Saliva is a natural bacteria fighter. It neutralizes and clears bacterial acids that form in your mouth after eating.
CHEW sugarless gum or use xylitol mints to increase your salivary flow.
Examples are Xylichew and Trident, which prevent bacteria from sticking to your teeth and reduce dry mouth.
USE dry-mouth management products like Biotene rinses, moisturizing gels, or sprays.
Many medications can cause dry mouth, increasing cavity risk. Products like Biotene keep your mouth moist.
5. PLAQUE
Bacteria feed off food particles and stick to your teeth, forming plaque that can lead to cavities.
BRUSH your teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste.
Brush when you wake up and before bed to remove food particles and gets rid of bacterial acids in your mouth. Some people also need prescription mouthwash to reduce plaque-causing bacteria.