Hi, this is Helen. There is nothing more beautiful and attractive than a positive, sincere, and glowing smile. As a matter of fact, keeping your pearly whites as healthy as possible can have positive effects on everyday life. For example, people are usually attracted to someone who obviously takes a few extra steps in taking care of their oral health. In addition to boosting self-esteem, smiling is a great way to connect with other people and make friends. Nevertheless, what happens when you neglect your oral hygiene? Actually, due to poor oral health, a lot of people become withdrawn and depressive. In essence, maintaining good oral hygiene rituals is all important. So, what can we do to keep our teeth as healthy as possible? Here are five oral care rituals to practice daily for best results.
1. Brush Daily
One of the most important things keep your teeth as clean and healthy as possible is to brush daily. A lot of the time we tend to forget to brush our teeth, so we decide to chew some gum instead. Even though there are some good chewing gums on the market, it simply cannot substitute for cleaning your teeth with top quality fluoride-based toothpaste.
For best results, brush your teeth after getting up in the morning and before going to bed. Encourage your kids to brush their teeth too. If you are one of those people who brushes after each meal that is even better.
In addition, it’s important to choose the right toothbrush. Try a brush with soft bristles. This way, it does not cause any damage to sensitive gums. Also, brushes should be thrown away and replaced after two to three months. Do not continue using the same brush for several months because bacteria might build up inside the bristles.
2. Floss Often
Flossing is also essential in maintaining healthy-looking pearly whites. Even though brushing your teeth daily is a crucial step in oral hygiene, it’s not enough to get rid of all the food bits and plaque that build between the teeth and gums.
If a person does not floss at all, diseases like gingivitis can happen. The best time of day to floss is at night; especially before going to bed. Also, floss only once a day because overuse might actually cause damage to the gums.
3. Get a Tongue Scraper
Not a lot of people know the importance of keeping the tongue clean. Did you know that the tongue is connected with the thyroid, lung, heart, and colon health?
Because of this, it’s important to focus on getting rid of any build-up on the tongue’s surface. Investing in a high-quality tongue scraper might be the best option for someone who wants to reduce bad bacteria. So, we include it here in our list of oral hygiene rituals.
By scraping the tongue, our taste buds will improve and the chances of bad breath minimize. To perform this step as efficiently as possible, scrape from the back forward and repeat a couple of times.
4. Oil Pulling
Oil pulling is a long-time Ayurvedic ritual that is still popular. In a nutshell, oil pulling is usually done using a high-quality cooking oil such as coconut oil or sesame seed oil. Right after getting up in the morning and before making breakfast, swish the oil in the mouth for a few minutes and then spit it out.
Oil pulling is great for keeping the teeth as white as possible, and it is can get rid of bad morning breath. After oil pulling, wash your teeth as you usually do. The results are visible after a couple of weeks, but it is best to continuously use this technique for at least two to three months so it does its magic.
5. Drink Lots of Water and Eat Healthy
Keeping up with a healthy lifestyle is important not only for a person’s overall health but also specifically for best oral hygiene. Thus, our good oral hygiene rituals list includes eating healthy and consuming plenty of water.
The food we eat can affect our health in many ways. For example, if a person has an addiction to sugar and fizzy drinks, then they might have decaying teeth or a form of gum disease. Also, cavities are quite frequent if you’re not avoiding sugar.
As for water, it is important because a dry mouth is at high risk of plaque accumulation. The most important thing is drinking enough water and eating plenty of fresh vegetables. Try to stay away from processed food and soda in general.
Final Words on Oral Hygiene Rituals
In conclusion, it is extremely important to have oral hygiene rituals that you can stick to daily. By keeping your oral health at an optimum level, many positive things will surely come knocking at your door. Be confident and show off that healthy smile!
About today’s writer
Helen Bradford is a journalism student who always seeks new ideas to write about. She enjoys blogging about beauty, health and style trends for women. When she’s not writing, she spends her spare time being active through fitness and traveling.
Nice Post
Great to hear, Merlin!
Nice Post
Great to hear it!
Nice article Christy B
Great feedback, thanks!
Good suggestions. Certainly hope everyone is following the first two.
Exactly.
these are wonderful ideas, thank you.
And thanks for helping with that question in the comments section about where to spit the oil ;)
:) truly my pleasure Christy! :)
I may try oil pulling. It sounds disgusting and I don’t know if I can bear the taste. But I’ll find the courage to give it a try. 😝
I’m like that with some other icky tasting things like cough syrups ;)
I’m totally the same. Just thinking of the oil is already making me squirmish!
Wow, never knew about oil pulling! Will try it out 👌🏻
Excellent post. I want to get back into oil pulling. Just don’t spit it into your sink!
Where should you spot the oil?
spit*
I would spit it in the trash can as you don’t want to clog your drain! :)
Ok thank you for the tip
:)
In a Ziplock baggie, a clean jar, or a trash can. Just not anywhere where it can clog pipes!
Oh ok good to know l! Thank you!
Oh my gosh, thanks for adding that note!!
You’re welcome!
Excellent article. I would add gargling with hydrogen peroxide to kill infections until you can get to the dentist.
I can’t attempt to do this. I might accidentally swallow because the taste would disturb me. This is very scary for me to try. 😰
So far I’ve never Swallowed. Obviously if it bothers you don’t do it. I’m sure that your dentist would have other recommendations.
Oh good tip! I’ll try it as I am seeing my dentist next month.
😁
Good tips Christy. My son and I brush with bicarbonate of soda. It works like a charm.
Awesome healthy approach!