Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping your mouth clean. It keeps your teeth and your gum line healthy. Good oral hygiene helps prevent cavities and gum disease, preserving your smile and keeping your teeth healthy. When you practice good oral hygiene, you prevent plaque, bacteria, and tartar from building up and keep your gums healthy.

How to Maintain Good Oral Hygiene?

Brushing your teeth at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, is highly recommended. Brushing after every meal can also help remove food particles and bacteria. Flossing is just as important as it helps remove food particles and bacteria between teeth. Mouthwash can also help kill bacteria and keep your mouth clean.

Six Must-halves in One's Oral Hygiene Kit

• Dental floss

Flossing is an important way to keep your teeth healthy. Flossing helps to remove plaque from between the teeth, along the gum line, and between the teeth and braces. Flossing is even more important for people who have braces because braces block plaque from coming off the teeth. So it is always essential to have a regular piece of dental floss or water flosser in your oral hygiene kit. 

• Dental floss threader

Floss threaders are metal or plastic devices used to help patients better access areas of the mouth where regular dental floss is unable to reach. This can be due to crowding, periodontal disease, or difficulty maneuvering dental floss using traditional flossing methods. 

• Toothpaste

Toothpaste is an extremely important component of one's oral care routine. Toothpaste helps to clean teeth, remove plaque, fight cavities, and prevent gum disease. There are many different types of toothpaste available, and you can choose one after getting recommendations from your dentist.

1. Whitening toothpaste: They can help to brighten teeth by bleaching away stains. These toothpaste often have baking soda or hydrogen peroxide as their active ingredient.
2. Sensitivity toothpaste: They contain ingredients that help block pathways that lead to tooth sensitivity. Here, the active ingredient is usually potassium nitrate.
3. Desensitizing toothpaste: They contain compounds similar to fluoride. This can help to rebuild enamel and reduce tooth sensitivity.
4. Gum disease toothpaste: They contain ingredients that help prevent or control gum disease.

• Dental rinse

Any mouthwash, toothpaste, or oral rinse that does not contain alcohol is recommended for use. Alcohol can dry out the soft tissues in the mouth, making the patient more prone to experience irritation and tooth sensitivity.

• Interdental brushes

Interdental brushes help clean areas between the teeth. They are small, bristled brushes that fit between the teeth. The bristles clear away plaque and debris from the gap, preventing the accumulation of food and plaque between teeth.

• Tongue scraper

A tongue scraper, also called a tongue cleaner, is a tool that helps remove plaque and odor-causing bacteria from the tongue. When used in conjunction with an oral hygiene routine that includes brushing and flossing, tongue scrapers can greatly improve your oral health!

If you want help in achieving the perfect smile, book an appointment at Sunset Oak Dental by calling us at (916) 435- 5111. We are located at 2161 Sunset Blvd, Suite 300, Rocklin, CA, 95765.