The New Year is well under way and off to a strong start! After a rather mild beginning to winter, Mother Nature has reminded us that we’re still in the middle of a Canadian winter. But now that the excitement and festivities of the holiday and the exciting to start to a brand-new year are fading into fond memories, it’s time to think about how to make 2019 the best year yet. If taking better care of your mouth and teeth is on your New Year’s to-do list, here are some tools that can help you achieve your goals!
Tools We Recommend for Taking Great Care of Your Mouth
Here are our top recommendations for what you should be using to take great care of your teeth and mouth:
- Electric Toothbrush – If you haven’t used an electric toothbrush before, you should try one. Electric toothbrushes used to be quite expensive – as much as $150 for a good one. But in recent years the prices have really come down – you can now get a rechargeable electric toothbrush for as little as $30. Some people prefer the rotary kind, some people prefer the sonic vibrating kind. We feel that both do a great job of cleaning your teeth so which kind you choose is a matter of personal preference. Do make sure that your new electric toothbrush comes with replacement heads, though, because just like regular toothbrushes the bristles on electric toothbrush heads do get bent and worn and need to be replaced. Also, several people in your home can use their own heads on the same handle: each person can have their own colour, making a new electric toothbrush a gift for your entire household!
- Water Flosser – Flossing is vitally important for good oral health, almost as important as brushing. When particles of food get caught between teeth and along the gumline and the bacteria naturally found in our mouths consume them and turn them into corrosive acids, continued exposure can lead to weak spots in a tooth’s enamel and be a starting point for cavities. Water flossers are a fast, convenient and effective way to wash away those minute particles of food leftover after we eat, helping keep your mouth clean and healthy. Water flossers are a little more expensive that electric toothbrushes, but you can get a good quality one for as little as $50.
- Tongue Scrapers – Tongue scrapers have gained popularity over the past few years and are now commonplace in the dental hygiene sections of department stores and pharmacies. We’ve long advocated that teeth brushing shouldn’t just be for teeth, and that you should be brushing your entire mouth including the roof of your mouth, inside your cheeks, the entire height of your gums, the surface of your tongue and underneath your tongue. Plaque, the bacteria naturally found in our mouths and the acids that they produce aren’t just found on the surfaces of the teeth, they’re all around our mouths. Most tongue scrapers have a physical scraping ridge for removing excess particles of food from the tongue, but they also have scrubbing surfaces for a deep down clean and to remove any dead skin cells from the surface of the tongue.
- A New Manual Toothbrush – Even if you’re using a good old-fashioned manual toothbrush, we recommend using the start of the New Year as a chance to get a new toothbrush. You should replace your toothbrush as least every 90 days, and even more if you’re a more aggressive brusher or if you’re using a softer toothbrush and your toothbrush is showing signs of wear. Replacing your toothbrush at the beginning of the year makes it easy to remember when you did it and when it’s next time for a new one. Even take your toothbrushing diligence to the next level by setting a 90-day reminder in your phone calendar for replacing your toothbrush next time.
Using some or all of the tools we’ve suggested is great for getting you started on a healthier mouth for 2019, but don’t forget to include regular visits to your family dentist as part of that commitment. Orion Dental offers a full range of dental services for the entire family, including teeth whitening, dental implants, tooth fillings and cosmetic dentistry. Call either of our Scarborough or Milton dental offices today to book an appointment and let’s get started!
