Emergency Dentist Trips Can Be Prevented With Good Hygiene

Taking Better Care of Your Teeth Through Good Oral Hygiene

Thanks to better in-home care and regular examinations and treatment at the dental office, more and more people are keeping their teeth to the end of their lives and avoiding emergency dentist visits.  Regular visits to the dentist are a big part of maintaining a healthy mouth, but the basic responsibility for good dental health rests with each individual.  Good oral hygiene, day-by-day, results in a mouth that looks and smells healthy.  This means that your teeth are clean and free of debris, your gums are pink and do not hurt or bleed when you brush or floss and bad breath is not a consistent problem.

Good Oral Hygiene

Maintaining good oral hygiene is the most important thing you can do for your teeth and gums.  Healthy teeth not only look good, but make it possible for you to eat and speak properly.  Good oral health is very important to your overall well being.  Daily preventative care, including proper brushing and flossing, will help stop problems before they develop.  Having a dentist treat problems after they develop is both painful and expensive.

Following are simple steps each of us can take to decrease the incidence of tooth decay, gum disease and other dental problems:

• Brush thoroughly twice a day, and floss once each day.
• Eat a balanced diet and limit snacks between meals.
• Use dental products, including toothpaste, that contain fluoride.
• Rinse with a fluoride mouthwash.