This article supplies practical advice about how you can ensure a good oral hygiene routine. This aids in maintaining a healthy and beautiful smile.
Just like a good work of art deserves a good frame, your mouth deserves strong, healthy and beautiful teeth. Feeling good about your teeth and subsequently your smile is important for your overall level of confidence. Above the aesthetic concerns of how your teeth look is the confidence that comes with how your teeth feel and how fresh and clean your breath is. All of the confidence that comes with healthy, beautiful teeth comes down to a good oral hygiene routine and taking responsibility for your health. In this article, Colorado Springs cosmetic dentistry professionals chat with us about what you can do at home to maintain oral health confidence and how your local dentist can help you achieve and maintain your aesthetic ambitions!
What Can I Do at Home to Improve my Oral Health and Hygiene?
It all begins at home! However, the Colorado Springs cosmetic dentists generally advise that you go for regularly scheduled appointments with a dentist to ensure that your teeth are in a good structural and functional order. Here are some good first steps:
*Invest! Buy a good toothbrush and toothpaste and take the time to seek the advice of your dentist regarding what sort of toothpaste you should be using. For instance, if your teeth are sensitive you should be using toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth. If you are a fan of coffee or other stain causing habits, use toothpaste with a whitening agent. While professional whitening by a Colorado Springs cosmetic dentist will be far more effective and powerful, using whitening toothpaste will certainly help reduce the build-up of tough stains.
*Maintenance: Maintain a good brushing routine: this means brushing your teeth at least twice a day for no less than two minutes. Don’t forget to clean the inner surfaces of your teeth and tongue!
*Rinse: Antiseptic and antiplaque mouthwashes kill the bacteria that causes caries, tooth decay, gingivitis and bad breath! Do try to avoid mouthwashes that contain alcohol as they can dehydrate the mouth and even lead to bad breath.
*Floss: This step is crucial! Floss removes plaque build-up in the areas between the teeth that brushing alone cannot reach. Leaving it there can lead to an increased risk of gingivitis and even gum disease, which can ultimately lead to tooth loss.
So there you have the steps that you can take at home; however, there are still plenty of things that can be done to boost your oral confidence, but these steps are better left to the professionals. For instance, your Colorado Springs cosmetic dentist can place veneers on the outer surface of your teeth to even out chips or camouflage heavy staining. Dental veneers are thin, custom made shells of tooth-colored materials designed to cover the front surface of your teeth to improve your appearance, leaving you smiling with a confidence that naturally comes with having beautiful healthy teeth!
There are also cosmetic soft tissue procedures available for people with too much or too little gums! Having said this, in most cases, a beautiful smile is simply achieved through good oral health and hygiene.