Oral Hygiene

The best offense is a good defense

While your oral health is by no means a game, it can help to think of it that way. Your offense is any restorative treatment like a filling or crown. Your defense is oral hygiene. While game day (or your regular dental appointment), is important, it’s the daily training (oral homecare routine) that pays off in the end. Establishing and maintaining a solid oral home care routine is essential to your oral and overall health, and will help you walk away from your next dental appointment with the big W.

Daily workout

If you’ve ever been to the dentist, you’ve heard it time and time again, “Have you been flossing regularly?” Whether or not you answer honestly is up to you, but we only stress flossing so much because it’s so important. Here are a few tips from the professionals at White Spruce Dental on how to maintain a good oral home care routine:

1. Nutrition – Your diet plays a huge role in your oral and overall health. Foods and beverages that are very sugary or highly acidic should be minimized or avoided.
2. Floss – Flossing is a crucial step in any oral hygiene routine to remove particles and plaque between teeth that brushing alone cannot. Floss every day before your nightly brushing.
3. Brush – You should brush your teeth at least twice per day, ideally after eating or drinking as well. We recommend an electric toothbrush for the best results (Sonicare® is our favorite). Don’t forget to brush the tongue!
4. Rinse – Mouthwash can help take your oral hygiene from a 9 to a perfect 10. Mouthwash kills 99% of germs and bacteria in the mouth that brushing and flossing can miss.
5. Water – When brushing and flossing is not an option, rinsing with water after eating or drinking can help to reduce the acidity that causes plaque, decay, and disease.

The big game

We hope you’ve been keeping up on your daily hygiene training routine, because it’s game day! Your Rochester dentists and our extraordinary hygiene team have the tools and training to give you an incredibly gentle, yet impressively thorough cleaning that will help keep your defense strong. Dr. Nozik or Dr. Tumminelli will perform a comprehensive oral exam to make sure your teeth, gums, and the rest of your mouth are performing well.

If you have any questions about oral hygiene, or would like to schedule a cleaning and exam with your Rochester dentist, Dr. Nozik or Dr. Tumminelli at White Spruce Dental, please contact us today at 585.424.5120.

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