Keeping up With At-Home Dental Care During Quarantine

That newfound time at home can be used to brush up on better oral care.
 

Your smiles are integral for laughing, enjoying your favorite foods, and talking to loved ones. Your smile is there for you through all the most important parts of your life, so it’s also important that you are showing it how much you care by practicing good oral hygiene. You can easily prevent cavities and gum disease, and our Charleston, SC, family dentist Dr. Denise Stone can provide you with helpful at-home strategies to support healthy teeth and gums during quarantine:
 

Brush your tongue

Did you know that bacteria don’t just settle on teeth and along gums, but also love to set up camp on the tongue and other soft tissues of your mouth? If you’re wondering why you deal with bad breath, you may want to turn your attention to how often you clean your tongue.
 

You can easily brush your tongue while brushing the rest of your teeth, or you may choose to use a tongue scraper. Either way, cleaning your tongue will certainly reduce bad breath and the bad bacteria in your mouth.
 

Don’t rinse right away

If you use fluoride toothpaste the last thing you want to do is immediately wash it all away with mouthwash. Fluoride is great for helping to remineralize and strengthen enamel (it even has the power to repair very early signs of decay); however, if you immediately rinse your mouth out you also wash away the fluoride. Wait about 15 minutes after brushing to use mouthwash.
 

Replace your toothbrush frequently

When was the last time you replaced your toothbrush or toothbrush head? You mustn’t be using the same old toothbrush head for months on end (they have a shelf life of about 3-4 months). When the bristles splay out that’s when you know it’s time to change them; however, if you’ve just gotten over an illness or you’ve come back from a trip then you’ll want to immediately replace your toothbrush head.
 

Floss every day

Most people think that brushing alone will keep their mouths fully clean; however, it’s the power of both brushing and flossing combined that helps keep your teeth and gums healthy and problem-free. If you aren’t flossing every day, now is the time to pick up the habit. It only takes a couple of minutes and it can remove plaque and food between teeth that brushing can’t. Trust us; flossing is one of the easiest and best things you can do for your smile.
 

If you have questions about your at-home dental care routine our Charleston, SC, family dentist is happy to answer your questions. For all of your questions or concerns, please call Stone Family Dentistry at (843) 556-6566.

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