Oral Care Advice
Personal oral care is very important to maintain one's dental health. The two most common dental problems are dental decay and periodontal disease. Both of these problems can be prevented with good personal oral hygiene.
Our standard advice on daily oral care is to gently brush your teeth and gums twice a day (once in the morning and again before going to bed at night) for at least 2 minutes with a fluoride-containing toothpaste, and to also clean the surfaces between your teeth on a daily basis with a dental floss, interdental brushes or a water-spray device.
We also advise that you watch your diet by avoiding high-sugar containing food or beverages. Realistically, it is probably impossible to avoid sugar completely so we need to be aware of the two aspects regarding sugar which causes damage to teeth - quantity and time.
Regarding the quantity of sugar, it is common knowledge now that a high sugar diet increases the risk of dental decay. The Australian Dental Association has promoted less than 15g of sugars per 100g of product on the food labels as being okay. Generally, less is better for dental health.
Time of sugar exposure is probably of more importance and not as widely known. Frequency of eating, time taken to complete a meal and certain food that sticks around teeth are factors to think about. We recommend having 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and nothing with sugar in-between the meals. Rinsing your mouth with plain water after meals can be helpful as well.
For extra protection, you may wish to consider some products in the market such as high-fluoride containing toothpaste, remineralisation pastes, mouthrinses and sugar-free gum.
The Australian Dental Association has 4 similar tips:
1) Brush twice daily, with fluoride toothpaste.
2) Use floss (or an interdental cleaning device) at least once daily.
3) Reduce sugary drinks and food.
4) Visit the dentist for regular check-ups.
Our own tip number 5 is to avoid crunching on hard food (e.g. hard nuts, lollies, ice, etc.).