Enjoy Life and Protect your Teeth During COVID-19
The COVID-19 has had an unprecedented effect on our daily lives. Whether we like it or not, it’s allowing us to spend A LOT more time at home than we normally would. I am certainly getting the hang of the ‘social distancing’ and ‘self-isolation’ techniques however I am failing miserably when it comes to social distancing from my refrigerator!
So, here are my 5 simple tips to enjoy the foods you do, including CHOCOLATE, AND ways to protect your teeth while you’re at it!
1. Snacking – Mix it up!
It can be a good time to mix up your snacking by introducing foods like cheese, celery and carrots. Celery and carrots are fibrous foods that help clean the plaque off your teeth. Like a natural toothbrush. Foods like cheese are high in calcium and are good for your teeth and gums. They help strengthen the enamel on your teeth. Snacking on healthy foods also stimulates saliva flow which helps prevent tooth decay. So enjoying healthy snack foods is one of the ways to protect your teeth in self-isolation, just don’t overdo the cheese…
2. Water, and lots of it
Staying hydrated is very important. Drinking plenty of water (8 glasses a day) helps with your salivary flow in the mouth. Drinking water after having chocolates or acidic foods and drinks helps neutralise the acids that dissolve the enamel and wash away foods that stain your teeth. It also helps dilute and remove the sugars that would otherwise ‘camp’ on the crevices of your teeth which the bacteria use as fuel to cause tooth decay!
3. Sugar-Free Gum – Chew Chew Chew
Most people don’t know but one of the ways to protect your teeth is to chew sugar-free gum. It promotes saliva production and removes food debris from the grooves of your teeth. Sugar-Free Gum can help freshen your breath until you get a chance to brush your teeth, for those that are always on the go!
4. Brushing and flossing
Brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing once every night should be part of your daily routine coronavirus or not. It is important to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before brushing your teeth. Your mouth produces acids to help digest the foods in your mouth. By brushing immediately after you can brush away tooth enamel before its re-mineralised again. Flossing helps reach the areas where the toothbrush can’t clean. It is also a way to protect your teeth by getting rid of the bacteria that live in between the teeth that cause tooth decay. By not flossing, you miss cleaning 30% of the tooth surface. In fact, most cavities start in between the teeth.
5. See your dentist every 6 months
Prevention is always better than cure. See your dentist every 6 months to ensure your teeth and gums are healthy. Any problems that may arise are able to be treated early before it becomes a much bigger and costly issue! Regular check and cleans are a foundation to a beautiful smile for life. Whilst under COVID-19 national restrictions on dental treatment, regular Check-Up and Cleans are currently being deferred, be sure to follow the suggested ways to protect your teeth provided in this article until the restrictions are lifted.
Dental emergencies can still be seen. So if you have a tooth-ache or broken tooth contact your dentist ASAP (if they are open for emergencies).
If you are anything like me, you may dis-like the term Social-Distancing. It is super important to listen to the authorities and keep your Physical-Distancing, however it is more important than ever to be socially connected. Keep in touch with all your loved ones and reach out. Zoom, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook etc, your friends and families are literally a button away😊
Stay safe,
Dentistry On Coolum