A healthy smile requires more than just visiting a dentist twice a year. Cavities are usually small holes in your teeth caused by tooth decay and can be avoided by consistently practising a few simple daily habits. You can save yourself the worry and hassle of oral care expenses by adopting a few of these habits.
Here are a few simple, yet powerful, habits you can begin today to avoid cavities.
Follow These Steps to Prevent Cavities
Understand Your Risk Factors for Developing Cavities
The first step in effective cavity prevention is to know your baseline. Do you frequently get cavities, or are you mostly cavity-free? To find out, talk with your dental professional about your own “risk level” for having a cavity. A dental professional can evaluate you on factors like your oral hygiene habits, diet, fluoride exposure, and even your saliva to help determine if you are at low, moderate, or high risk of developing cavities. Knowing your risk level allows you to customise your dental hygiene.
Brush Twice Per Day and Floss Daily
Brushing twice daily and flossing daily may feel obvious, however, this is the first line of defence in preventing cavities. Brushing uses fluoride toothpaste to remove dental plaque, a sticky film of bacteria that feeds on sugars to make acid, which makes cavities.
Flossing is equally or even more important than brushing. Flossing is important to remove food particles and dental plaque that a toothbrush cannot reach between teeth. Make it part of your night-time routine. Flossing takes only a couple of minutes, but can have a significant impact on reducing decay in those hard-to-reach areas.
Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and replace it every 3–4 months. And if you’re feeling fancy, consider an electric toothbrush, which can be more effective at plaque removal.
Choose a Tooth-Friendly Diet
Your food choices significantly impact your oral health. Sugary snacks and sticky sweets, as well as acidic drinks like soda and fruit juices, can lead to cavities. When sugar stays on your teeth, bacteria break it down and produce acid, weakening your enamel and causing tooth decay. Instead, choose food that is better for your teeth: crunchy vegetables, like carrots and celery (they can help clean your teeth), cheese and yoghurt (they can neutralise the acid produced by bacteria), and nuts (they contain minerals).
Stay Hydrated
Not only is water good for your overall health, but it is also good for your teeth. Drinking water rinses food particles away after meals and can help lessen acid in the mouth. If your water is fluoridated, it also reinforces enamel and prevents cavities.
If you have dry mouth, your chances of cavities can increase. One reason is that saliva plays a crucial role in neutralising acid, and can help to repair early tooth decay. So keep sipping on water throughout the day.
Conclusion
Making sure you won’t get cavities is not difficult and does not require expensive products. It simply requires consistent work on the fundamentals: knowing your cavity risk, brushing and flossing correctly, eating the correct foods, and being hydrated. These small daily habits will accumulate over time and will prevent you from pain, expense, and dental work in the future. Visit World of Dentistry to get rid of the cavities by accessing personalised recommendations for dental health.