Apart from dental care, what do you need to keep your teeth shining? Right food and regular visits to the dentist. While it is only every six months that you need to visit the dental clinic, you need to pay attention to what you eat every day.

In terms of food, it is recommended that you keep the consumption of sugary and starchy food to a minimum. Sugary and starchy food stick to your teeth and the rest of the mouth, helping bacteria flourish. This is why it is important not to consume anything sweet before hitting the bed. Bacteria may play havoc in the mouth when the body is asleep. Avoiding sugary food does not mean you cannot bite into your favorite fruit. Try to choose the whole version instead of the juice. The fiber in the fruit helps cleanse your mouth. Fruits are good for your dental health. Apart from fruits, consume food rich in calcium. Thus, you can eat cheese and all other dairy products without worrying about your teeth.

Now, let’s talk about the thing that accompanies food: drinks. Avoid those fizzy drinks at all costs. Consume alcohol in moderation. Rinse your mouth well after you have had red wine or you will stain your teeth. Reduce the consumption of coffee as much as you can. Drink about 8-10 glasses of water a day.

Speaking of water, you need to make it your friend. Develop the habit of rinsing your mouth. Rinsing makes sure most of the food particles are washed off your mouth. Rinsing also takes care of foul breath. It also makes you feel fresh. Drinking water also keeps your mouth hydrated, preventing dry mouth, which further prevents oral problems.

Now that you know the secret to good dental health, keep smiling!

Tags: dentl health, food for dental health

How do you tell your kids not to swear? By not swearing. Simple. If you expect your child to do or not do something, you need to show him/her your example. In dental care, you can lead only by example. So, what all dental health advice are you going to pass on to children? Read on to find out.

• Brush after each meal or at least twice a day. Brush for at least 2-3 minutes. It is important that you brush your teeth thoroughly to prevent any bacterial growth. And don’t forget to brush your teeth before going to bed. While we sleep, bacteria become active in our mouths. It is important to remove all traces of food from the mouth to prevent plaque.

• Floss once a day. And clean your tongue regularly too. While regular brushing helps remove food and plaque off the surface of your teeth, flossing helps remove them from places beyond the reach of a toothbrush. Keeping your tongue clean is also important to keeping bacteria at bay. Make sure you don’t scrape your tongue too hard.
• Go for a dental check up every six months. Even if you think your teeth and gums are fine, go for a check-up regularly. Your dentist will help remove any buildup of plaque or tartar, apart from giving you good oral and dental advice.
• Eat healthy, balanced meals. A balanced diet is not only good for your skin, hair and your overall health, but also for the pearly whites inside your mouth.

Keep smiling and make your children smile too.

Tags: Dental Care, dental care advice, Dental Health

You say you love your teeth. Do you really? Read through this list of things you should avoid if you want good dental health. If there is even a single thing in the list you indulge in, you need to stop boasting about your love for your teeth.

• Skipping a tooth or parts of the teeth while brushing
  Bacteria can flourish in places you do not clean regularly.

• Rubbing the tongue vigorously with the brush
  Apply gentle strokes to clean your tongue.

• Eating sugary food before going to bed
  Bacteria love sweet; keep your mouth clean before going to bed.

• Not brushing your teeth before going to bed
  The bacteria in the residual food inside your mouth play up while you are sleeping. Make sure you do not have any food residue in your mouth when you go to sleep.

• Not rinsing the mouth after eating or drinking anything
  Rinsing your mouth with plain water, better with a good mouthwash, helps keep your mouth clean and moist.

• Ignoring any pain in the teeth and gums
  Do not wait for a problem to aggravate to visit your dentist. See your dentist as soon as you notice the early signs of a problem.

• Avoiding daily flossing
  For healthy teeth, it is important that you floss once everyday. You may fix a time for flossing everyday, even if it is in the latter half of the day.

• Keeping the mouth dry
  Saliva keeps your mouth moist. Try to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day to make sure your mouth is not bereft of saliva.

• Using a tattered toothbrush
  Invest in a soft-bristled toothbrush when you see your toothbrush wearing out. In fact, start changing your toothbrush every three months for better dental care.

• Resorting to home remedies on developing an oral ailment
  Do not ignore any symptom of tooth or gum disease. Seek expert help as soon as you can.

So, what do you say now? If you avoid all the things listed here, hats off to you! Keep smiling!

Tags: dental care don'ts, Dental Health

New parents pay attention to every tiny detail of a baby’s health. And yet they miss out on their child’s oral health. That is because they don’t think babies need oral care. They do. In today’s post, we will tell you a little about taking care of your child’s dental health.

Do you let your baby sleep with a bottle of milk? That’s a bad habit because it can lead to tooth decay. Take care to wipe your infant’s mouth after she has been fed. Baby bottle decay is also known as early childhood caries or nursing caries. The immediate symptom is pain but its long-term consequences include improper development of permanent teeth. Do not keep the baby exposed to sweet liquids for a long time. As a nursing mother, you should also take care of your own dental health; if you have cavities, the bacteria responsible for it can infect your baby too. It may sound strange but cavities are infectious.

Something that parents notice after a while is thumb sucking. Thumb sucking is typically observed in babies up to the age of two. However, you should dissuade your child from it after that age. It is better not to let your child suck her thumb when her permanent teeth start appearing. Thumb sucking or chewing a pacifier gives your child a sense of emotional security. Thus, in order to stop her from thumb sucking or pacifier chewing, you need to provide her with more emotional support instead of scolding her.

It is important that you take your child to the dentist when her first tooth appears. Thereafter, in consultation with your dentist, you may take her for check ups every six months.

Hope this post helped. Do let us know if you have any other query.

Tags: Children, dental care in children

I must confess I judge people by their appearance. As in, the first impression is always formed by the way a person presents himself/herself. Now, let me also tell you that I am not looking for a Prada label on people’s clothes. I like people who maintain personal hygiene and wear clean clothes. But when a well-dressed person opens his/her mouth to introduce me with a stink, I cannot hide my disgust. Not that I don’t try to but I am sure my face shows a frowned experience. I hate bad breath more than I hate anything. And I am proud to tell you that I never have bad breath. How? Read on.

I brush and floss my teeth daily.
If you are letting bacteria thrive in your mouth in the form of plaque, you will have bad breath. Fight the bacteria with the two most trustworthy weapons you have – the toothbrush and the floss.

I rinse my mouth after consuming anything.
Rinse your mouth several times a day, especially after eating or drinking something, even if it was a tiny piece of pastry you ate.

I clean my tongue regularly.
Use a tongue scraper or a soft toothbrush to clean your tongue. A lot of importance has been laid on getting rid of the bacteria off the teeth, but the tongue also becomes a shelter for bacteria if not cleaned properly. Clean both sides of the tongue. However, don’t scrape too hard.

I eat plenty of fiber.
By fiber, I mean roughage that comes in vegetables and fruits. The roughage helps keep the tongue clean, thus preventing any bacterial growth. Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can eat.

I drink plenty of water.
It is important to keep the mouth hydrated as bacteria loves to make its home in dry mouths. Gulp down at least 8-10 glasses of water a day.

Now, can any kind of dental hygiene advice be simpler than this?

Tags: Bad breath, breath, Dental Care, oral care

Sweets and dental health are almost antonyms. Sweets are detrimental to your dental health, we have heard for so long. What do you do then, if you have a sweet tooth? Devouring sweets day and night can cause obesity, diabetes, and tooth and gum problems. Does that mean people with the sweet tooth should start looking away from sweets? No. They just need to take a little extra care. We will tell you how.

Rinse your mouth well after you have eaten anything sweet. Now, it is not too difficult to get some water to cleanse your mouth after satisfying your sweet tooth. Yeah, the after-taste will be gone, but isn’t that better than feeding bacteria in your mouth?

Rinse your mouth after you have consumed coffee, tea, or other sweetened beverage. If you are the workaholic who keeps his/her spirit high by pouring cups of coffee and tea down his/her system, you may be damaging your teeth beyond you can imagine. It’s better to cut down the intake of these beverages. It is important that you rinse your teeth every time you gulp down a cup of coffee or tea.

Ask your dentist for the right toothpaste. Your dentist can help you pick up the right toothpaste. If you do not drink fluoride water, he/she will ask you to use fluoride toothpaste. He/she may prescribe you sugar-free toothpaste too.

Now, some different kind of advice. You know, everything needs to be taken in moderation. Sweets too. Pamper your taste buds but don’t load them with sweets. Also, choose the right kind of sweet. Choose a fruit over a bar of chocolate to satisfy that craving.

Hope this information helps. Happy smiling!

Tags: Dental Health, sweet tooth

Imagine that you neglected your kitchen’s sink for a week. What would you notice after a week? A dirty, stinking sink. Of course, you will clean it at once, but wouldn’t it help to clean it everyday? You will need to put in just a little effort. My point in telling you all this? That daily care is important. So, when it comes to taking care of your dental health, you need to pay attention to it everyday.

In today’s post, we will discuss some finer details of daily dental care. Like the time you spend on brushing your teeth. You need to brush for at least two-three minutes. Play your favorite song while you brush. This way, you will not only relax while you brush but also spend enough time on brushing your teeth.

It is important you brush your teeth gently. Brushing hard harms both your enamel and your gums. Your gums may bleed because of brushing harshly.

How soon after a meal do you brush your teeth? Wait for about an hour before you brush. The acids in the food make the enamel soft and susceptible to damage. The enamel hardens itself after some time. There should be an interval of 45-60 minutes between eating food and brushing.

Now, let’s talk about tongue cleaning. It is important not to scrape your tongue too hard. Scraping too much can cause bacteria to build up in the pores of the tongue, making way for diseases in the mouth.

If you would like to know more about taking care of your teeth, ask your dentist when you visit him/her next.

Happy smiling!

Tags: Dental Care, dental care tips

We all claim to love our teeth and smile when we visit the dental clinic. But more often than not, the fact that you are at your dentist’s (apart from the visits every six months) indicates that you neglected your teeth in the past. In today’s post, we bring to you eight signs that indicate you don’t love your teeth.

• You skip a tooth or parts of your teeth while brushing.
  Bacteria can flourish in places you do not clean regularly.

• You miss brushing your teeth before going to bed.
  It is important you don’t eat anything after you have brushed your teeth. The bacteria in the residual food inside your mouth play up while you are sleeping. Make sure you do not have any food residue in your mouth when you go to sleep.

• You skip rinsing your mouth every time you eat or drink anything.
  Rinsing your mouth with plain water, better with a good mouthwash, helps keep your mouth clean and moist.

• You rub your tongue vigorously with the brush.
  Apply gentle moves to clean your tongue.

• You dislike daily flossing.
  Most of us find excuses for not flossing. We find it too troublesome. However, for healthy teeth, it is important that you floss once every day. You may fix a flossing time every day, even if it is in the latter half of the day.

• You eat sugary food before going to bed.
  Bacteria love sweet; keep your mouth clean before going to bed.

• You use a tattered toothbrush.
  Invest in a soft-bristled toothbrush when you see your toothbrush wearing out. In fact, start changing your toothbrush every three months for better dental care.

• You ignore any pain in your teeth and gums often.
  Do not wait for a problem to aggravate to visit your dentist. See your dentist as soon as you see the early signs of a problem.

Now that you know the signs, don’t ignore them.

Tags: bacteria, bad dental habits, Brushing, flossing, teeth care

Do you go ‘Eww’ when somebody’s body odor or bad breath hits you on your nose? Of course, you do – unless you are Shrek. Now, a person who doesn’t practice personal hygiene doesn’t take long to go down in the eyes of everyone around him/her. Oral hygiene is just as important as body odor

Now, what exactly is oral hygiene? Well, oral hygiene refers to the cleaning of the teeth and mouth in order to keep dental problems at bay. In simpler words, oral hygiene means the practice of keeping the mouth healthy.

How can you maintain good oral hygiene? You need not do a lot. Here’s a list of what you must do:

• Brushing at least twice a day

• Flossing every day to clean between the teeth
• Tongue cleaning once a day
• Drinking plenty of water throughout the day
• Eating balanced meals
• Restricting snacking on sugary food between meals
• Using a mouthwash to rinse your mouth
• Rinsing the mouth after consuming anything

Now, how would you find out whether or not a person practices good oral hygiene? Well, if one makes an effort to keep one’s mouth clean and healthy, one will reap the following benefits: no foul breath in the mouth, no food particles present in any part of your mouth, absence of toothache, and healthy gums. Of course, a sparkling, healthy smile is the end product of good oral hygiene.

Are you sure others are not going ‘Eww’ when you open your mouth? And I am not referring to words here. If your are confident, good for you. If you are not sure, you know what you need to do!

Happy smiling!

Tags: dental hygiene, oral hygiene

I know many of you yawn when you hear the word ‘routine’ after ‘dental care‘. You are always looking for the word ‘tips’ after ‘dental care’, aren’t you? Today, I thought of making your day. So, I won’t talk about the routine anymore, but I won’t talk about dull and boring tips either. Today, I am going to talk about various ways to care for your teeth that are simple and easy to implement. So, here you go.

Drink tea but clean your mouth afterwards. Tea contains fluoride, which is good for your teeth. Tea, like water, keeps your mouth hydrated thereby preventing oral problems. Don’t forget to clean your mouth well after finishing your cup of tea.
Eat citrus fruits. Fruits like lemon, guava, orange, grapefruit and tangerine provide the necessary vitamin C required by the body. The deficiency of vitamin C causes gums to bleed. It is important to make citrus fruits a part of our daily diet. The vitamin C comes from the citric acid in the fruits.
Say cheese with cheese! You will be happy to know that cheese is very good for you – of course, when consumed in moderation. Cheese provides the necessary calcium to keep your teeth and bones healthy. If you dislike the taste of milk, go for cheese.
Step out. Vitamin D is an important vitamin for maintaining overall health. It also helps prolong the life of your teeth. So, just step out into the sun and you have got an important vitamin in your body. Take all the necessary precautions to make sure the sun does not burn you. What you need is 10 minutes of exposure to the sun twice a week.

Hope you enjoyed the new kind of dental care tips today. Keep smiling!

Tags: Dental Care, dental care advice, dental care routine, dental care tips