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8 Dental Hygiene Tips for a Healthy Smile

istock_000030299380largeYour smile is the first thing anyone notices about you, which is why you want to keep it beautiful. People who smile are much more attractive. They appear friendlier and happier, and people instinctively want to get to know those with the best smiles. Of course, a beautiful smile means taking care of your teeth, and some people aren’t entirely sure how to do that. There’s the whole brush and floss thing, but what else is required to make smiles healthy and gorgeous?

Brush and Floss
You’re brushing twice a day or more, depending on what kind of spicy lunch you had during your lunch break. However, there’s a good chance you’re not flossing enough. You need to floss after every brush, and you need to do it the right way. That means flossing between every single tooth without skipping the back or rushing through the process.

Clean Your Tongue
According to Empire Dental Group, your toothbrush needs to do a quick once over on your tongue during every brushing. This helps to remove bacteria that builds up there. That bacteria can migrate over to your teeth if you ignore it, and that can cause your smile to become less than attractive, especially if it makes your breath smell less than welcoming.

Brush for Two Minutes
You’ve heard it more than once, but do you do it? When you’re rushed in the morning and everything is going awry, do you brush the full two minutes? Or do you spend a minute brushing before you think you’ve done enough and it’s time to get out the door? The full two minutes is required if you want to have a truly beautiful smile. Dentists don’t just make that up to get you to spend more time in the bathroom.

Eat Well
Your healthy diet isn’t just good for your waistline. It’s also good for your teeth. When you eat well, you ensure your teeth are healthy. The vitamins and minerals in healthy food are good for your teeth. They promote healthy teeth by providing them with strength. Furthermore, you already know a diet rich in sugar kills your oral health and ruins your teeth.

Chew Gum
When food sits in your mouth after eating, it can promote plaque. Ideally, you need to brush your teeth or at least floss after every meal. However, if you cannot do that, you need to at least chew a piece of gum. It helps to remove some of the plaque build-up that accumulates after a meal. Just remember to go for the sugar-free gum so you’re not doing more harm than good to your smile.

See Your Dentist
It’s tempting to skip a dental check-up when you have a busy schedule. After all, your teeth look good and you’re healthy, so what’s the point? The point is that your dentist helps to clean your teeth more than you can help clean them. If you allow one missed visit, you provide plaque and bacteria an additional 6 months to build up in your mouth and ruin your beautiful smile. That’s only one visit, but it makes a huge difference to your overall health.

Skip the Stain-Inducing Food
You love coffee and red wine, and we get that. However, those are items that are terrible for your teeth. They stain them, and they do it quickly. If you want the most beautiful smile, you want white teeth. Red wine and coffee don’t allow your teeth to stay white very long. Either keep the consumption of both to a minimum, or speak to your doctor about getting your teeth whitened when necessary.

Take Care of Bad Breath
We’re not just talking about the kind of bad breath that comes after eating a garlicky meal. This is the kind of bad breath you notice that never seems to disappear no matter how often you brush, floss and use mouthwash. This kind of bad breath is a sign that there is something wrong in your mouth. It’s an indicator that you might have some sort of health issue to worry about, and it’s not all right to ignore persistent bad breath. Call the dentist right away.

Personal hygiene is more than a little important. Your mouth is one area of your body that needs careful attention every time you brush and floss. Take this advice and you’ll see a significant improvement in your breath, your health, and your already beautiful smile.