One way to maintain personal health is to keep your teeth and mouth clean. However, it is not enough to just brush your teeth. In order to maintain dental and oral hygiene and avoid disease, you also need to use mouthwash.
When you have a toothache due to cavities or swollen gums, you will certainly feel uncomfortable and your daily activities, such as eating, drinking, even talking, may be disturbed.
Not only that, various studies also show that dental and oral health problems can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes. Therefore, it is important to always maintain oral and dental health.
Tips for Maintaining Dental and Oral Health
In addition to brushing your teeth twice a day after eating and before going to bed, there are other steps you can take to keep your teeth and mouth healthy, including:
1. Using dental floss
Dental floss can be used to clean food debris stuck in between the teeth and prevent the formation of plaque that can cause cavities. Clean between teeth with dental floss (dental floss) you can do after brushing your teeth.
2. Quitting smoking habits
Smoking can cause a number of problems with the teeth and mouth, such as bad breath, discoloration of teeth, buildup of plaque and tartar, and the appearance of white patches in the mouth due to irritation (leukoplakia). In addition, smoking can also increase the risk of oral cancer.
Therefore, you are advised not to smoke in order to avoid various problems with your teeth and mouth, as well as to avoid diseases in general.
3. Using toothpaste with ingredients fluoride
The bacteria in the mouth will secrete acids to process carbohydrates from the food you eat. These acids can erode the minerals in the enamel or outer layer of teeth. This over time can cause cavities.
To help prevent cavities and strengthen tooth enamel, use a toothpaste that contains fluoride when brushing teeth.
4. Using mouthwash or mouthwash
As previously mentioned, maintaining healthy teeth and mouth is not enough just to brush your teeth and use dental floss. You also need to use mouthwash or mouthwash.
To maintain healthy teeth and mouth, you can use mouthwash that contains thymol, methyl salicylate, menthol, and eucalyptol. These substances are usually found in mouthwashes containing green tea extract, leaves mint, siwak and leaves thyme.
The content is known to have efficacy (more effective) in cleaning teeth and mouth from plaque and food residue, and also inhibits the growth of germs in the mouth. Not only that, the use of mouthwash also makes breath fresher for approximately 12 hours.
In addition to doing some of the ways above, you can also maintain healthy teeth and mouth by doing the following tips:
- Replace the toothbrush at least every 3 months or when the bristles of the toothbrush are damaged. Use a special toothbrush, if you are undergoing braces.
- Limit consumption of sugary foods and drinks, such as candy, chocolate, and soft drink.
- Eat high-fiber foods, such as vegetables and fruit.
- Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.
- Check your teeth to the dentist regularly every 6 months.
In addition to doing the various ways above, you can also clean your teeth and mouth by trying oil pulling. However, its effectiveness in maintaining dental and oral health still needs further research.
If you experience problems with your teeth and mouth, you should consult a dentist to undergo an examination and get the right treatment. Do not delay going to the dentist, because problems with the teeth and mouth can get worse and difficult to treat if left too long.
