How to Prevent Cavities
Cavities (also known as tooth decay or dental caries), are the second most dominant disease in the US. They basically occur when plaque (that sticky biofilm that forms on your teeth) gets to combine with starches of foods such as sugars. The combination is basically harmful to your teeth in that the process creates acids that attack your tooth’s enamel. If you want to know how to prevent cavities, then reading this article will definitely educate you about this.
Always Brush Your Teeth
It’s generally recommended that you brush at least twice a day. But if you’re really serious on preventing cavities from destroying your teeth, then you should consider brushing your teeth three times everyday with toothpaste that contains fluoride. Toothpaste should not be swallowed by the way.
Floss Everyday
Flossing is essential to preventing cavities. Every time you eat, bits of food always get stuck in your mouth in between teeth. If you don’t try to remove these bits of food, cavities will eventually form. Floss everyday so you can remove any small pieces of food that’s stuck in your teeth. Just make sure that you don’t pull it on your gums.
Consume Proper Nutrition
Eating healthy is probably the best way you can ensure yourself of having good strong teeth. Lessening your intake of sugary foods aids your teeth from minimizing the formation of plaque. Eating foods that are rich in calcium also helps your teeth become healthier. Milk, cheese, and spinach, are some examples of foods rich in calcium. Sardines, soybeans and fortified cereals are also some calcium-rich foods.
Use Antimicrobial Mouth Rinses
Using antimicrobial mouth rinses is an effective way to reduce plaque formation in your teeth. Rinses such as Crest Pro Health and Listerine are very effective at helping to fight off cavities. Mouth rinsing after brushing is also recommended for your teeth to prevent cavity formation.
Chew Some Sugarless Gums
There are some sugarless gums in the market that are totally advantageous for you aside from the simple pleasure of chewing them. Some sugarless gums are even helpful in increasing your saliva flow, thereby helping to reduce the risk of cavities. Notable sugarless gums are Eclipse, Extra, and Wrigley’s Orbit. Chewing these helps you to avoid or stop your teeth from forming cavities.
Utilize Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are also beneficial to strong and healthy teeth. Sealants are basically protective coating designed to be applied to the back teeth’s biting surfaces. It shields against plaque and bacteria to protect the tooth and hinder it from forming cavities. It’s used mainly by children because of their permanent teeth’s new growth. However, it can also benefit most adults who want to prevent their teeth from creating cavities.
As a final advice before you go, you should never, ever be afraid of your dentist. Especially when you’re talking about the health of your gums and teeth, only a dentist can help you in this regard. Most of these cavities cannot be detected unless your dentist is the one that’s looking for them. They do this either by looking at your dental x-rays or just simply peering at the insides of your mouth with small mirrors. Visit your dc dentist regularly so you can be sure that you have perfectly healthy teeth.
