3 Keys To Maintaining Healthy Teeth

No matter what your teeth or smile looks like, the health of your teeth is most important. We need our molars, incisors, and bicuspids to chew food so that our bodies can stay healthy. When teeth develop disease and start to decay, we lose our ability to eat healthy foods like carrots, apples, nuts, and so on. So healthy teeth are a major resource that we need throughout the entirety of our lives. If your goal is to keep your teeth for as long as possible, our New Jersey dentist recommends that you start with good dental health care. Your teeth depend on healthy gums and healthy mouth tissue in order to stay strong. So how do you take care of your mouth so that your teeth last as long as possible?

1. Start With Your Diet - Don't Feed Bad Bacteria

First, start with a healthy diet. Tooth decay is a problem that starts when the mouth is not healthy. Your mouth needs good bacteria to stay healthy, but there are bad bacteria constantly trying to take over. This bad bacteria leads to tooth and gum disease. The last thing you want to do is kill all the bacteria in your mouth because you need the good bacteria to fight off the bad. Instead, you need more good bacteria to thrive. So how do you keep the bad bacteria from taking over? Feed the good bacteria, not the bad. Bad bacteria like Streptococcus feeds on sugars and starches. If you eat a diet high in sugar content, you are feeding the bacteria that cause gum disease. Switch from eating high sugar foods to healthy fresh vegetables and meats that don't make your mouth acidic. Eat plain yogurt and other probiotic foods daily to help build the good bacteria in your body. This will help your teeth as well as your digestive system and will build up your immunity system.

2. Develop Good Oral Hygiene Habits

Next, brush your teeth and use dental floss after every meal. Every time you eat, your mouth will turn acidic. Since bacteria love acidity from starches and sugar, neutralizing the acid in your mouth diminishes their food supply. That's why brushing and flossing are important after every meal. But you can also use an alkaline mouthwash to help lower the acidity level in your mouth.

3. Schedule Teeth Cleaning Twice Per Year

Finally, have your teeth cleaned every six months to remove plaque and tartar buildup. With regular cleaning, your gums will stay healthier. The plaque and tartar on teeth will affect the health of your gums. In fact, this is where gum disease starts. Only a dentist can remove tartar. Plaque is a sticky, clear film while tarter is sticky and brown, yellow, or black. Both contain loads of bacteria that are constantly eating at the enamel of your teeth. With good dental care, your teeth have the best chance of surviving throughout your lifetime. By seeing your dentist regularly, eating healthy, and taking care of daily oral hygiene, you can avoid tooth decay and the problems it causes throughout your life.