It’s that time of year again! With all the unbridled celebrations of the New Year come the dreaded New Year resolutions:
“This year, I’m going to quit smoking and get to the gym.”
“This year, I’m going to save $X and pay off all my debts.”
“This year, I’m going to become an astronaut and fly to the moon.”
There’s nothing wrong with lofty New Year resolutions; our enthusiasm just tends to dissolve somewhat when NASA calmly explains that you actually need an advanced science degree in physics if you really want to join their training program. So, no… that one astronomy course you did during the first year of your BA unfortunately won’t suffice.
A New Year resolution that ISN’T hard to achieve and yet has incredibly lofty outcomes is better oral health and hygiene. Experts in the treatment of tooth loss and in dental surgical procedures, such as All on 4 implants always emphasize the value of keeping your teeth and gums healthy, so perhaps this New Year your resolution should be to better your oral health care. When you consider that the long term outcomes of such practices are: (1) a beautiful smile with healthy pink gums and white teeth and (2) better overall health, these resolutions really are worth making. And there’s nothing like a lovely white smile to give you the confidence to achieve all those other New Year resolutions!
2013 Resolutions for a Healthy Smile
Okay, so you want to whip your oral health into shape. The first lesson to learn is that most people are already convinced that they do enough to care for their teeth. But they are wrong. 80% of all Americans present with some stage of gum disease, which is typically a result of poor oral hygiene and bad habits (smoking, heavy drinking and bad eating). Without treatment, this can result in total tooth loss and the need for rehabilitative procedures, such as All on 4 implants. So, if you want to get your teeth into great shape, you have to acknowledge that you could do better than you’re doing. Here’s a step-by-step guide…
- Brushing
- Brush three times a day: morning, night and after lunch. It’s not embarrassing to take a toothbrush with you to work. It’s your colleagues’ breath that will smell of cheese and onion bagel, not yours!
- Brush for two minutes at a time, dedicating 30 seconds per quadrant of the mouth.
- Make sure you brush every tooth at the back of your mouth as well as the front. In most cases of tooth loss, it’s the molars that first fall out simply because they haven’t been scrubbed as well as the front teeth.
- Replace your toothbrush every three to four months and when the bristles start splaying.
- If your toothbrush does start looking more like a toilet brush after only a few weeks, then you may be pushing down too hard. This can actually erode away your dental enamel, so ease up a little.
Stay Tuned for Part 2
Stay tuned for the second part of this article series to find out more from experts in the placement of dental implants in Houston on what it takes to get your smile into fabulous shape for 2013!
