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While serious conditions like diabetes, liver disease or cancer can give rise to it, the primary source of bad breath is oral bacteria. Unfortunately, much of what people purchase only masks breath odor without addressing the underlying cause.
Given that, it's no wonder we buy mints and mouthwashes by the ton. Romance aside, bad breath can also adversely affect other social and career relationships. In a recent survey, more than a third of its 5,000 respondents said fresh breath was their top concern during a date. Our obsession with our breath's olfactory quality has even given rise to National Fresh Breath Day on August 6.īad breath is usually not a serious health issue, but it can be a big deal in other respects. But there's also a secondary motive-to freshen our breath. We Americans spend billions on oral hygiene products each year, primarily to fight tooth decay and gum disease. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine article “ Daily Oral Hygiene.” If you would like more information on the best ways to incorporate oral hygiene into your life, please contact us or schedule a consultation.
#Floss then brush or vice versa professional
Professional care coupled with proficient daily hygiene will help ensure you have cleaner mouth and better dental health. If they feel gritty rather than smooth, you may have left some plaque behind.īesides your personal hygiene efforts, be sure you also have your teeth cleaned regularly by a dental hygienist to rid your mouth of any residual plaque and tartar (hardened plaque)-these can also cause dental disease. Take the "tongue test." Wondering how well you're doing with your hygiene efforts? One quick way to find out is the "tongue test": Simply swipe your tongue across your teeth just after brushing and flossing. If this is a problem for you, consider using a flossing tool-a floss threader or pick, or even a water flosser appliance that uses pressurized water to break up and remove plaque. Many people avoid flossing because they find it too hard or cumbersome with traditional flossing thread. Instead, go easy when you brush and let the toothpaste's mild abrasives do the heavy lifting. Too much pressure applied while brushing can damage enamel and gums. You may need "elbow grease" to clean your floors, but not your teeth. Your efforts should take about 2 minutes to complete.ĭon't be too aggressive. Be sure, then, to thoroughly work your toothbrush's bristles into all dental surfaces. Plaque can be stubborn, clinging to the nooks and crannies of teeth and around the gum lines-and it can easily be missed while brushing. Here are a few handy tips to improve your oral hygiene routine.ĭo a thorough job. An inadequate job can leave residual plaque that could still cause disease. First and foremost, oral hygiene should never take a holiday-even a day or two of accumulated plaque, the bacterial biofilm that builds up on teeth surfaces, can trigger the occurrence of gum disease or tooth decay.īut while "showing up" every day to brush and floss goes a long way toward a healthy mouth, you also need to perform these tasks well. October is National Dental Hygiene Month, highlighting once again the importance of these two points for keeping teeth and gums as clean as possible. But these advancements do little good if a) we don't use them on a daily basis, and b) we're not proficient with them. Today, we have better tools and methods for achieving a cleaner and healthier mouth. To achieve that blessed oral state, they chewed on tree bark or employed primitive toothbrushes like bamboo sticks with hog hair bristles attached to their ends. It gradually dawned on our ancient ancestors that a healthy mouth was usually a clean one.