Have a good oral hygiene routine. Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and regularly clean between your teeth with dental floss or another interdental cleaner (between your teeth). Choose smart foods that limit foods that are high in sugars and starches. Eat nutritious, balanced meals and limit snacks.
During preventive visits, we'll suggest fluoride treatments and sealants to reverse any signs of tooth decay and prevent cavities from forming on your child's back molars. By taking a proactive approach to dental care and protecting teeth that are prone to decay from direct contact with acidic and sugary foods, your child is much less likely to experience tooth decay. Of course, if you're like most adults in Buxton, Maine, you don't want to have cavities. So what are the best ways to prevent these diseases and tooth decay from starting early on? By adopting these 10 strategies, you will do good for your mouth and your entire body and significantly reduce any future risk of tooth decay.
You've probably read several articles about how much water you should drink each day. For example, the Mayo Clinic suggests that we drink between 11.5 and 15.5 cups of water a day, depending on our sex and weight. Drinking water helps keep our bodies working efficiently and effectively and helps keep our mouths clean and healthy by eliminating food particles left in our mouths. Simply put, water is the best drink for your teeth.
We can avoid this by cleaning our mouth after eating with toothpaste. They are basic in nature and can neutralize the excess acid produced in the mouth, thus preventing tooth decay. Saliva works to prevent tooth decay. It removes sugar from the mouth and carries it to the stomach, prevents acid from causing damage, fights bacteria and can repair the early stages of tooth decay by repairing dental minerals.
Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by making teeth more resistant to plaque bacteria and the resulting acids. Sealants can help preserve teeth and, although they aren't a cure for everything, they are cost-effective and can help control cavities in certain areas of the mouth. A study found that chewing gum containing the sweetener xylitol temporarily slows the growth of bacteria that cause tooth decay. Tooth decay occurs when foods containing carbohydrates (sugars and starches) remain in your teeth, such as breads, cereals, milk, soft drinks, fruits, pastries, or candy.
Tooth decay is the destruction of the tooth structure and can affect both the enamel (the outer layer of the tooth) and the dentin layer of the tooth. If your tooth hurts, decay may have reached the center of the tooth and the inner nerve. Saliva can deposit minerals back on the surface of the teeth, and improvements in diet and oral hygiene make a big difference. Early detection and treatment help preserve the strength of your teeth and prevent bacteria from damaging your center.
We know it seems obvious, but proper brushing and flossing is your child's first line of defense when it comes to preventing tooth decay. If the amount of acid in the bacteria in the teeth exceeds the protective effect of saliva, tooth decay will occur. It's important to do this as soon as possible, because the longer decay is left untreated, the more it will spread to the tooth.
