As the weather starts warming up, people start to come out of their houses and improving appearances. While some decide to get swimsuit ready and others focus on improving the look of their yard, improving your smile should be a focus for everyone. Not only will your mouth feel better, but you can feel confident knowing you have a beautiful smile.
Focusing on Oral Hygiene
A healthy smile is always better looking. There are certain goals you can set that help obtain the best possible smile, including visiting the dentist. When you don’t have regular cleanings and checkups, your oral hygiene suffers. Making sure that you go in for a professional cleaning at least twice a year helps reduce cavities and gum disease.
Dental cleanings improve your smile by scraping away plaque and tartar, identifying problem areas, and doing fillings if you have small cavities. There are approximately 5% of adults between the ages of 40 and 59 that are missing all their teeth. Losing teeth from rot and disease is painful and expensive to replace. While there are plenty of options available for fixing and replacing bad teeth, why not focus on keeping the ones you have healthy and strong?
Setting Reasonable Goals
What can you do to keep the teeth you have and improve your overall oral health? You can set small, simple goals that make a huge difference over time. Here are three easy goals you can make that will give you the healthiest mouth and the best smile.
1. Brush your teeth. While this is not ground breaking news, brushing your teeth is very important. Tiredness and running late are the two biggest excuses for skipping this important step of the morning and evening routines. Too often, adults go to bed after a full day of eating and don’t brush their teeth. Others sleep in too late or are just too rushed in the morning and either skip or forget it. Make it a goal to brush your teeth at least every morning and evening.
2. Replace your toothbrush. Many people only replace their toothbrush when they go to the dentist for a cleaning. Since only 60% of adults visit the dentist each year, that means people go long amounts of time between changing up their toothbrush. It is recommended that you replace your toothbrush every three to four months if you brush as regularly as you should. If you brush your teeth too hard, the bristles will push out and need to be replaced sooner.
3. Floss every day. Brushing alone isn’t enough to fight off plaque, tartar, and cavities. Food left between teeth will start to decay and create sensitivity, weak spots, and pools of bacteria. Flossing your teeth at least once a day is a great goal to help keep your smile bright and beautiful.
These three simple oral hygiene goals can make all the difference in the way your smile looks and feels. A healthy smile makes you feel more beautiful and confident for every photo, holiday, and vacation. As you make plans to improve other areas of your life, don’t forget to include your smile.
