Everybody wants a beautiful smile, and for a good reason – a smile is the first thing people notice. But a healthy smile doesn't occur automatically nor is it something you can achieve overnight. It's impossible to have a beautiful smile if you don't take care of your oral hygiene.
Since oral hygiene entails more than taking care of your gums and teeth, here are tips on other dental practices you'll need to embrace to maintain a beautiful smile:
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Have Your Teeth Aligned
Aligning or straightening your teeth is an effective way to improve their appearance and attain a beautiful, healthy smile. The easiest way to get your teeth aligned is to undergo an Invisalign treatment process.
Invisalign is the modern-day alternative to the traditional metal braces. It’s a set of transparent aligners that move teeth gently into position, ensuring that lower and upper teeth fit properly.
Overcrowded or crooked teeth are hard to clean. They have hidden pockets that are hard to reach during brushing. This creates a suitable environment for bacteria to multiply and plaque to accumulate. Getting your teeth aligned makes it easier to floss and brush them. This keeps your gums healthier and prevents cavities from developing.
Visit The Dentist Regularly
A dental visit every six months for routine cleaning can go a long way in enhancing oral health and maintaining a beautiful smile. Dental cleaning removes tartar and stain from teeth. Failing to subject your teeth to regular cleaning may result in periodontal disease that causes receding, bleeding, and swelling of gums.
Periodontal disease also puts you at risk of developing severe health conditions like diabetes, stroke, heart attack, sleep apnea, obesity, and premature birth.
During the dental visit, you'll be screened for conditions like oral cancer and high blood pressure. Since most health conditions manifest in the mouth, doctors consider this important and will advise on issues you need to follow up with other specialists.
Quit Smoking
Another way to maintain a beautiful smile is to avoid smoking. People who smoke end up staining their teeth. Although stains acquired through smoking may be superficial and can be polished off, they can soak into teeth's enamel with time.
Smoking also damages gums, causing them to develop pockets around teeth and recede. All this affects your smile as it can give your teeth a more extended appearance with dark spaces in between. Reversing gum disease that develops due to smoking can be tough, hence the need to avoid it.
Get An Electric Toothbrush
The toothbrush you use can determine how good your smile will be. To enhance your gum health and clean your teeth well, consider replacing your normal toothbrush with an electric one. During brushing, electric toothbrushes oscillate bristles to create micro-movements as you move them across your teeth. This makes them more effective in removing plaque than normal toothbrushes. Some even come with feature modes that take care of sensitive teeth and whiten them.
Although an electric toothbrush body can go for years without replacement, the head should be changed routinely. If buying an electric toothbrush doesn’t fit into your budget, go for a manual brush that has soft bristles. Avoid toothbrushes that have stiff bristles. These kinds can wear your teeth's enamel and recede your gums.
Brush Teeth At Least Twice Everyday
Although this might sound obvious, most people forget to maintain the routine of brushing teeth twice per day. This is an essential oral care practice because plaque begins to harden and form tartar within a very short time when left alone. Brushing your teeth twice a day keeps this from happening and gives you healthier, whiter teeth.
As you brush your teeth, pay attention to the way you position the toothbrush. Ensure that the bristles on your toothbrush are angled at 45 degrees on the gumline without applying too much pressure. Make small gentle strokes targeting two teeth at a time. This helps you remove plaque from the teeth and keep the gums healthy.
Increase Your Water Intake
Water is your best friend in maintaining a healthy body and a beautiful smile. When you drink it in plenty, you flush out any food particles that may have been caught between the teeth, effectively preventing tooth decay. In most instances, tap water is recommended because it contains the correct fluoride dosage. Fluoride enhances tooth health by discouraging decay.
Minimize Beverage Intake
Although beverages like tea and coffee may seem harmless to your body, they can affect your teeth significantly. Consuming these and other sugary or acidic drinks exposes your teeth to decay over time. The sugar and acid in tea and coffee respectively erode the enamel part of the teeth, exposing them to cavities and tooth decay that can ultimately lead to teeth loss. All this denies you a beautiful smile.
Final Thoughts
Oral care plays a critical role in keeping your teeth in good shape. However, oral care is not something you do just once and have instant results; it requires consistency. To maintain a beautiful smile, apply the seven tips discussed above.
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