Have you been consistent with your oral hygiene routine?
If you have, then good job! If not, then you best brush up on oral care basics. And what better time to do that than Oral Health Month?
While it’s not an official holiday, Oral Health Month is the best time to teach kids and yourself the importance of dental hygiene and establish good habits to keep teeth healthy throughout adulthood.
Simple Holistic Ways to Care For Your Teeth
Many factors affect oral health; some are easy to control, while others are more difficult to manage. Let’s take charge of the factors we can control this Oral Health Month. After all, preventing problems before they happen is better than trying to fix them later.
Here are some holistic ways we can care for our oral health.
Brush and floss after meals.
This Oral Health Month, let’s try to be more serious about improving our oral health, beginning with brushing and flossing. We all know brushing and flossing after meals as one of the most basic ways to care for our oral health. But sometimes, we forget to do them.
Brushing and flossing is the best way to prevent plaque buildup, bacteria growth, and acidic mouth pH. You may also swirl some water around your mouth to remove some of the food and sugar particles in your mouth if you cannot brush or floss.
Drink more water.
June is also the beginning of summer, which makes hydrating more important. Aside from being part of most bodily functions, water also keeps teeth healthy. Drinking water after meals is an excellent method to remove some of the food particles and sugar still hanging around in your mouth.
Drinking it throughout the day also helps clean your teeth and prevent cavities by keeping your mouth moist and stimulating saliva production. It also prevents tooth staining and bad breath and neutralizes acids that can damage your tooth enamel.
Try oil pulling.
Oil pulling is an ancient practice that has amazing benefits. It’s an Ayurvedic technique used in oral health care to draw toxins from the mouth and body and prevent plaque buildup. Take a tablespoon of organic, cold-pressed oil of your choice, then swirl it around your mouth for 20 minutes while “pulling” the oil between your teeth. You may also add a few drops of orange essential oils to make teeth brighter or tea tree oil to cleanse and purify your teeth.
Try mouth probiotics.
It’s a well-known fact that probiotics play an essential part in gut health and immunity, but not many people realize that the mouth also has good bacteria linked to probiotics. Beneficial oral microbes work with the immune system to help prevent harmful bacteria from taking over and keeping them in check. They also help balance the mouth’s pH and enzyme activity. Using an oral health care product with good bacteria to fight off the harmful bacteria hiding out in the small spaces between your gums and teeth will keep them from multiplying.
Consume more green vegetables.
Eating lots of green leafy vegetables rich in minerals and non-sweet juices is one of the best ways to care for your teeth and whole body. Green vegetables like collards, spinach, and lettuce provide your body with bioavailable minerals that strengthen teeth and bones and put your body in an alkaline state that boosts the immune system, preventing viruses and bacteria from thriving.
Aside from nourishing your body, it also keeps saliva pH above 7.5, strengthening teeth and making enamel remineralization easier. Stronger enamel is more effective at protecting teeth, resulting in fewer cavities and tooth decay. Teeth lose their minerals once saliva pH levels reach 5.5, leaving teeth more susceptible to cavities.
Try out ionic mineral supplements.
Minerals are essential to the skeletal system, including our teeth. Aside from calcium, the skeletal system also needs various trace minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.
Unfortunately, the food you consume doesn’t have as many minerals as it once did. Luckily, we have ionic mineral supplements as an alternative way to help your body absorb bioavailable minerals and balance its pH.
Clean your tongue with a tongue scraper.
The whitish or grayish stuff coating you see on your tongue is made up of dead cells, bacteria, toxins, and food particles. It sounds nasty, but it’s easily preventable by correctly cleaning your tongue regularly.
Try including a tongue scraper in your oral care regimen. It looks just like it sounds; it’s a small round tool made of metal or plastic that you use to gently scrape off the buildup on your tongue. It’s an inexpensive and simple way to improve your breath and prevent bacteria from causing tooth decay and other oral diseases.
Add essential oils to your oral hygiene routine.
Essential oils are highly concentrated oils found in plant leaves, flowers, and roots. They are rich in beneficial components and are usually extracted using steam distillation, solvents, resin tapping, or CO2 gas.
Essential oils like peppermint, rosemary, cloves, thyme, and wintergreen can purify your mouth and freshen your breath. They also support healthy blood flow in the gums. Citrus oils like orange and tangerine help brighten your smile and remove some stains.
You can add them to DIY toothpaste and mouthwash recipes or for oil pulling to enhance their effectiveness. Do note that essential oils should not replace any medication or procedure; use them as aids to your oral care instead.
Reduce refined sugar consumption.
Sugar is the primary food source of bacteria, which they digest and result in acids that harm teeth. It also contributes to the development of many health problems like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Reducing refined sugar intake will deprive bacteria of the sugar they need to consume to thrive, resulting in lesser acidity and tooth damage.
Drink green tea.
Green tea is rich in polyphenols, an antioxidant that reduces inflammation and fights bacteria. Green tea also combats bad breath, prevents cavities and gum disease, and helps with teeth sensitivity and oral cancer.
If you’re not a tea-drinker, no problem! You can try dental hygiene products, gum, and candy that contain green tea. Just make sure they’re sugar-free.
Happy Oral Health Month From Sunrise Dentistry
Oral Health Month won’t be complete without visiting our dentists in Durango, CO, for a thorough checkup. They’ll also clean your teeth, check for oral diseases, and perform other preventive services to make sure you have a bright smile for everyone this summer. Call us for any inquiries you may have regarding our services. Our doors are always open for you.
