6 dental hygiene tips for the perfect smile

There are important steps when it comes to your dental hygiene routine and ensuring a long-lasting beautiful smile. If you don’t clean your teeth every day, you’re putting yourself at risk of sensitive teeth, gingivitis or gum disease.

Thankfully, award-winning dentist Dr Danny Watts, is here with his expert advice on maintaining good oral hygiene and preventing tooth decay.

1. Brush your teeth properly

This is the most overlooked step in improving oral hygiene - but also one of the easiest! Without exception, you should always brush your teeth when you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed at night. 

And how do you do that? In order to properly clean your teeth, place your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle against your gums and gently move in a circular motion as opposed to the back and forth motion. Clean one tooth at a time, continuing with the circular motion, and also brush across the top of the chewing surfaces, followed by the side facing the tongue, and the back of the upper and lower teeth. You should ensure that the toothbrush bristles clean the grooves and crevices.

2. Floss - don’t underestimate the power of flossing!

Whether people realise how important flossing is or not, few of us do it regularly and consistently. Flossing should be done either before or after brushing your teeth and, if possible, throughout the day after meals.

Flossing gets rid of food and plaque between the teeth in places where a toothbrush cannot reach. If this plaque is not removed, it may harden into tartar that can only be removed by a dentist. Benefits include preventing gum disease, fresh breath and an impressed dentist at your next visit!

3. Don’t forget your tongue

Cleaning the surface of the tongue can improve breath and general dental health. It also benefits its appearance by removing the unappealing build-up of bacteria. Ask your dentist for a tongue scraper if you feel uncomfortable doing it with a toothbrush.

4. Regularly change your toothbrush

It’s recommended to change your toothbrush once every three to four months, or every two to three with electric toothbrush heads. The exact time depends on usage, health and preferences but if the bristles of the toothbrush look frayed - it’s time for a new one!

5. Eat a healthy diet

Healthy teeth require calcium, which is essential for bone health. Foods that contain calcium include milk, yoghurt, cheese, nuts, white beans, tofu, soya beans, sardines and leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and kale. It’s also recommended to try cutting back on, or avoiding, processed foods and those that have a high sugar content. 

Curbing that smoking habit can also help your teeth. Aside from decreasing the risk of cancer, getting rid of a tobacco addiction can improve the appearance and colour of your smile. 

6. Don’t just visit your dentist when a problem arises

Visiting your dentist twice a year, at least for a full dental hygiene check-up and treatment, will substantially improve long-term health. The majority of people rely on their dentist only when an issue or pain is experienced. A comprehensive exam with X-rays can detect and prevent future dental issues, oral surgery, gum disease and the need for root canal treatment.

If you are in need of a dental check-up, or you would simply like to receive more advice on maintaining good oral hygiene, do not hesitate to book an appointment with Dr Danny Watts via his Top Doctors profile today.