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How to Keep Your Mouth and Gums Healthy

A concern for people of all ages is keeping their mouth and gums healthy. How much should we brush? How often should we floss? After every meal? Twice a day? After breakfast and before bed? More regularly than that? And how often should we see the dentist? These are important questions, whose answers can mean the difference between a lifetime of healthy mouth and gums and the discomfort and misery that comes with chronic dental and oral health issues. Here are some tips on how to enhance the health of mouth and gums:

—Make dental care a daily part of your day: the first and most important tip to follow. You can’t have a healthy mouth and gums without staying on top of your dental and oral care. Whatever you decide to do—and suggestions on how often to brush your teeth vary from dentist to dentist—make sure you do it consistently every day.

—Brush after every meal: while we noted that each dentist will have a different idea of how often you should brush your teeth, a good way to improve and maintain the health of mouth and gums is to brush after every meal and before bed. Everyone, of course, brushes after breakfast and before bed, but there’s more than 12 hours in between in which plaque is building on your teeth and bacteria is collecting in your gums. Brushing four times a day is a great way to make sure you have a healthy mouth and gums.

—Replace your toothbrush every couple of months: a toothbrush is like a new car: its value depreciates drastically as soon as you drive it off the lot. That doesn’t mean you have to buy a new toothbrush every day, of course—though it would be cheaper than buying a new car every day!—but it means regularly replacing the toothbrush. A new toothbrush is a small enough investment and it goes a long way towards preserving your healthy mouth and gums.

—Use mouthwash every time you brush your teeth. Brushing takes care of a lot of the buildup that gathers on your teeth, but what about the gums? Swiping at the gums can’t get rid of the bacteria that damages gums and contributes to cavities and gum disease. Rinse your mouth with mouthwash each time you brush your teeth and you’ll take care of that pivotal second layer of dental care and help keep your mouth and gums healthy.

—Floss. Most people don’t like flossing—it’s not a whole lot of fun working string in between teeth—but it’s a vital part of keeping a healthy mouth and gums. Flossing dislodges the pesky food particles that are embedded in teeth and are difficult to get out with simple brushing. You don’t have to floss every time you brush your teeth, but flossing once a day will vastly improve the health of mouth and gums.

—See your dentist twice a year. Of course! Twice-annual dental checkups and cleanings are the tune-up every mouth needs as well as a good chance to make sure no problems are in the infant stages of development. A healthy mouth and gums requires a lot of tinkering and care, but it will all be worth it decades down the road!

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