Good Dental Hygiene Can Prevent Cavities And Gum Disease

Good Dental Hygiene Can Prevent Cavities and Gum Disease

Good dental hygiene is important for the overall health of your teeth and gums. Making periodic trips to your dentist for a cleaning and brushing and flossing your teeth daily can prevent cavities from forming and tartar buildup which can lead to gingivitis. There are many recommendations for good dental hygiene which can help you maintain healthy teeth and gums and avoid costly and invasive dental procedures.


One of the first steps in maintaining good dental hygiene is making regular visits to your dentist. It is recommended that you see your dentist twice a year for cleanings and examinations. Your dentist will remove any tartar from your teeth that has been built up in between visits and take x-rays of your teeth to make sure the roots are strong. They can also check for cavities and fill them while they are still small. They will examine your gums to make sure they are healthy and free from disease. Often after a regular cleaning, the dentist will treat the teeth with fluoride to help maintain the strength of the teeth. Regular dental visits are essential to good dental hygiene.

Following a regular daily brushing and flossing routine is also important to maintain good dental hygiene. It is recommended that you brush your teeth upon awakening, after meals and before you go to bed for the night. It is essential to brush your teeth thoroughly for at least ten to fifteen minutes in order to remove any plaque buildup and control tartar. Flossing is also important for good dental hygiene. Flossing can help prevent gum disease and cavities. Flossing removes plaque and food that remains stuck in between teeth that can decay and cause cavities. Food decay and plaque can also cause irritation to the gums, allowing them to bleed easily. Going without flossing can lead to tooth loss and gum disease. Flossing is recommended to be done at least once a day, preferably at bedtime in order to prevent receding gums, gingivitis and cavities between the teeth.

There are some other important steps to good dental hygiene that may not be as obvious or well-known. Cleaning the tongue is an important part of any good cleaning regimen. Brushing the tongue or scraping it removes a layer of bacteria that can be responsible for bad breath. Cleaning the tongue also removes decaying food particles, fungi and dead cells from the surface of the tongue. Tongue cleaning is an important step in dental hygiene as it can remove some of the bacteria that are responsible for tooth decay.

Practicing good dental hygiene can prevent disease and cavities and make your visits to the dentist painless and enjoyable. Getting into the daily habit of brushing and flossing, along with twice a year visits to the dentist is good preventative medicine for optimum oral health.

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Top Causes of Bad Breath

Bad breath, also called halitosis, is a common malady for many people. It can negatively affect interpersonal interactions as well as self-esteem. Fortunately, it can be treated effectively, and usually easily, at home. The cause of the odor simply needs to be identified first.

Some forms of bad breath are caused by the foods we eat. There is an initial scent that lingers, such as garlic or onions, that isn't truly "bad" breath. Rather, this is just the odor of the food most recently ingested. Other foods actually contain compounds that alter the way the air leaving our lungs smells. This form of bad breath is unpleasant, but there is nothing to be done to solve it, short of not eating those foods any more. The odor can be mitigated by using breath mints.

Most other bad breath is caused by bacteria of the mouth. This bacteria can in several spots, some easier to reach than other, throughout the mouth. When the bacteria excrete waste from what they have ingested, they leave behind certain compounds that result in foul odors. The majority of these compounds are sulfur based, which is why people often relate the taste in their mouth to the smell of rotten eggs or the "bottom of a bird feeder". Other scents that are considered unpleasant are also sulfur based.

Sufferers usually wonder how to get rid of bad breath. If the odor is bacteria born, the only way to effectively end it is to kill the bacteria. Good oral hygiene, beyond simply teeth brushing, involves a thorough cleaning of all areas of the mouth. This requires daily flossing and tongue cleaning. If bad breath is a persistent, troublesome issue, a special dentist-prescribed mouth rinse may be necessary.

One of the most important factors in bad breath prevention is not giving bacteria a hospitable environment to grow in. Saliva is a key factor in killing bacteria within the mouth; if the mouth becomes dry, or short on saliva, bacteria aren't effectively removed. Individuals who frequently complain of a dry or "cotton" mouth also often report bad breath or a foul taste. Dry mouth can be caused by dehydration, extended speaking or smoking.

Bacteria also grow well in an unhealthy oral environment. Gum disease, or gingivitis, as well as periodontal disease both cause a breakdown of the gums and tissues surrounding teeth. This gives bacteria a well protected place to breed, far from reach of a toothbrush or dental floss.

Not only that, it can cause bad breath in and of itself. The bacteria that break down the gums and tissues to cause the disease release the same waste materials as other oral bacteria. The initial cause of bad breath, an overabundance of oral bacteria, can often lead to secondary bad breath, caused by gum or periodontal disease. Thorough oral hygiene is the most effective ways to get rid of and prevent bad breath.

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