By now we all have discovered what exactly scares us the most when we visit a dental clinic. If you haven’t you can dig out your deep-rooted dental fears here. (why are we scared to visit a dentist)

In our previous blog, we also spoke about how the burden of bad dental experiences impacts our decision to visit a dentist. The fear of treatments, bad dental experiences and cheating dentists makes us more hesitant to knock at the dentists door.

But are you the only one who faces this? Not at all. Dentists do fear the complex dental treatments that involve pain and suffering too. We did mention what a dentist goes through they were made to be a patient in our earlier blog. Read here. (i am a dentist and i am scared too )

But dentists do know the knack of avoiding all the suffering. The knack of avoiding all dental problems in the first place. Dentists do know what it takes to avoid all the trouble. Only if you did it like your dentist, you could save yourself from all the mess.

Do it like your dentist does.

For a good oral hygiene

Brush twice daily with the recommended technique

Brushing twice is just not enough, but brushing with the right technique is what makes a difference. Brushing your teeth anyhow will only cause more damage. Hold the toothbrush at 45 degree angle and brush in to and fro motions. Next move on to circular motions to brush your teeth effectively.

Change your toothbrush every 3 – 4 months

Older toothbrushes tend to get frayed and reduce their cleaning efficiency. Its is best to change your toothbrush every 3-4 months. Also changing your toothbrush frequently reduces the chances of falling sick. hence changing your toothbrush or the brush head of the electric toothbrush is a good practice.

Don’t forget to floss your teeth at night

Night time is the best time to floss your teeth and you won’t have any excuses as you have ample amount of time for your night-time dental care routine. They say if you want a beautiful skin, you need to take efforts and have a good skin care routine. The same is with oral care too. If you want a 100% bacteria-free mouth, you definitely cannot skip flossing at night.

Use a separate tongue scraper to clean your tongue

Lazy people often tend to use the backside of their toothbrush or use the bristles of the toothbrush to clean their tongue. But Using a separate tongue scraper will work wonders to improve your oral hygiene as well as get rid of your bad breath. Don’t miss out on this one.

To improve gum health

Oil pulling every morning

Oil pulling every morning will help reduce the plaque that lingers on your teeth. Plaque is the main culprit for all your dental diseases. Make sure your teeth are plaque-free to be cavity-free.

Regularly massaging your gums

Healthy gums pave way for healthy teeth. Massage your gums to improve blood circulation in the gums and make them stronger and healthier. Good blood circulation improves gum healing and prevents gum infections and inflammations.

Use a medium / soft bristle toothbrush. Even better an Electric Toothbrush

Electric toothbrushes do give an additional benefit in improving your oral hygiene. Hard-bristle toothbrushes could cause sensitive teeth and yellow teeth and using an extra soft bristle toothbrush will not help in getting rid of the plaque. So it is best to use medium – soft bristle electric toothbrushes.

Precautions to take while eating food

Eat foods that are good for your teeth and gums

Eating fibrous foods, foods that help in good bone health could improve the condition of your oral health. Fibrous and watery foods help flush out the bacteria, debris and foods stuck between the teeth it also helps in reducing the plaque that clings on the tooth surfaces.

Rinse after meals with plain water

Rinsing after every meal is a good practice to keep the plaque, bad bacteria and bad breath away. Another good practice is to use a water flosser after meals, if you have the comfort of being at home.

Make sure no food is stuck on your teeth after meals

Usually, the food we tend to eat, especially sticky and carbohydrate-rich foods tend to stick to the surfaces of the teeth for a long time. This gives enough time for the bacteria to ferment the carbohydrates and release acids that cause tooth cavities. It’s is, therefore, best to get rid of the food that is stuck to prevent cavities

Keeping a check is more important

Check the condition of your teeth and gums

Having a check on your dental issues is very important to avoid the progression of the dental diseases. Do keep a check on redness of gums, swelling and puffy gums, bleeding as well as ulcers. Certain medical conditions like diabetes, blood pressure, heart conditions and pregnancy can affect your oral health and vice versa. Studies suggest having a good oral hygiene can keep your heart conditions under control.

Scan for any black spots or lines on your teeth

Small cavities usually start with brown to black lines and small dots on your teeth. Getting them detected early and getting a filling done at the earliest can save your tooth from a root canal treatment or getting your tooth extracted. A tooth filling is not as bad as a root canal treatment or a tooth extraction. Save yourself by keeping a check on your oral health.

The bottom line is:

Dentists fear dentists too! We’re in this together. If your dentist can do it, you can do it too.! All it takes is 5 minutes of dental care routine in the morning as well as in the night. This way you would never have to visit your dentist for anything, but preventive dental treatments which are not painful at all. All you need to do is follow your dentist’s footsteps.

Highlights:

• Every person wishes to never have to visit a dentist.
• Well, there are some ways you can avoid visiting a dentist, all you have to do is take some precautionary measures.
• Dentists do take care of their teeth by practicing the above for good oral hygiene, better gum health, and keeping a regular check on their oral status.
• Prevention is better than cure and the same applies in case of dental care too.
• You too can keep a regular check on your oral health by taking a free dental scan on the DentalDost App. (link here). It’s like having a dentist in your pocket. Like the sound of that? Go for it!