Tricks Of The Trade: The Easy Ways To Improve Your Dental Health

The New Year is here, and it’s a perfect time to make a resolution regarding your teeth. Happily, you don’t need to set yourself a huge campaign to help improve your oral health – there are lots of little ways you can do it, that take next to no effort. We know nobody wants to stop eating chocolate – who would? – but you can change how and when you eat it, which can help mitigate the damage it can do to your teeth. Curious? Allow us to explain!

Giving Your Teeth The Brushoff

It’s common knowledge that brushing twice a day is vital to maintaining good dental health. But the method you use to brush your teeth is at least as important as the frequency. It’s common for people to brush their teeth by holding their toothbrush at a parallel angle, but actually the best way to hold it is at a 45-degree angle. This helps the bristles properly get between your teeth, covering the entire surface area of each tooth and reaching places that you wouldn’t be able to by using a straight angle.

A Good Day To Diet

The word ‘diet’ is a scary word for most people. It evokes images of strict regimens, unyielding conditions and severe conditions for success. It doesn’t need to be that! In most cases, it’s easier to think of it as just not eating too much of the bad stuff, especially not all at once. Sounds simple, right? It is! Switch out that flapjack every morning for an apple instead. Have less sugar in your coffee.

Also – chocolate. Dark chocolate, while not a shining beacon of good health, is certainly better for you than milk chocolate or many mainstream brands. Although amounts vary, as a general rule it contains less sugar, and is even packed with nutrients that are actively good for you. Speaking of which, sugar free sweets are far more widely available than you might first think, and can make fantastic substitutes for those of us with a particular sweet tooth.

Keep Things Simple

Fizzy drinks are a particular devil for dental health, and these are the first things you should cut down on if you’re looking to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. If you do give in to temptation, don’t swish it around your mouth before swallowing – this increases the amount of sugar and acid you expose your teeth to! Straws can also help in this aspect, as drinking through them will help some of the worst of the acids bypass your teeth completely (though it doesn’t completely mitigate all the negative effects). Meanwhile, whole grain cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables in our meals can all help directly improve our dental health, especially if we find ways for them to replace our sugary favourites.

New Year’s Resolutions are notoriously hard to keep, but only if you set yourself massive goals. The way forward is to give yourself minor ones, using the tips and tricks above to help. For example, allow yourself the occasional pizza on Fridays, but be stricter with your diet for the rest of the week. Above all, set achievable goals. If you set the bar too high, it’ll seem all the harder to reach it.

If you have any questions about your dental health, you can always contact a friendly member of our team on 01254 297 000. Or use our homepage to book an appointment!

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