Home Care for Better Health Care

Facts:

50% of people consider the smile the first thing they notice.

80% of people are not happy with their smile

A 2008 British Study showed that 14% of the population do not brush at all.

Various studies show that only between 2 and 12% of people floss regularly and effectively.

They say go to the dentist twice a year to check on and maintain your dental health. If you do that and nothing else you could have dentures at a young age.

While going to the dentist is extremely important, even more important is what people do at home. The very minimum for home care is brushing at least twice a day and flossing at least once a day. There are also a whole other variety of things at our disposal that help make this even easier.

With all of the things at our disposal there is no reason we should not be able to reduce the number of teeth people use. More and more things are introduced all of the time to help the average person accomplish keeping their teeth for as long as they want. Below are a list of things the average person can do to help keep their teeth a lifetime.

Make sure you give your dentist all of the information they need. In today's world many people are on numerous medications. Many medications have numerous side effects that affect your teeth. These include dry mouth and swelling of your gums. Make sure you tell your dentist everything so they can give you all of the tools necessary to help you lessen the oral effects of your medications:

• Brush your teeth at least twice a day. Each of these times should take at least two minutes. Use short gentle strokes, make sure you hit the hard to reach spots in the back, make sure you get your gumline and make sure you brush your tongue
• Floss at least once a day. My dad used to have a sign in the office that said "Only floss the teeth you want to keep". This is very true. It is also not easy to floss. Make sure you are using a long enough piece of floss (at least 18 inches), make sure you hit all surfaces when going between the teeth, do not saw as you can irritate your gums.
• Listen to your dental care professional

There are numerous other things your dental care professional can suggest that will help you on your home hygiene quest. These include but are not limited to water irrigation systems, Soft-Picks, numerous rinses and dry mouth products.

Listen to what your dental professional suggests and you are headed in the right direction.

Yours in Better Dental Health

Paul