Two Simple Ideas for Keeping Your Pearly Whites Shark Sharp

I think there’s a certain connection to the quality of one’s smile and their mood. I mean, just look at the Hollywood stars, they are all smiles – all the time! Yes, they are probably happy their new movie sold out and that they’ve received a big fat paycheck, but the confidence to smile so widely and so often wouldn’t be there if they hadn’t a perfect string of teeth.

Unfortunately, we are not Hollywood stars nor have the money to apply all the latest cosmetic dental treatments to make our teeth glow. However, there are some easy and cheap ways we can maintain the healthy glow of our teeth and prevent cavities from forming. If you want to keep your pearly whites shark sharp for as long as possible, make sure that the following two recommendations are part of your daily habits.

Reduce Your Sugar Intake

Having a sweet tooth means being one step closer to a rotten tooth. Not only does sugar have no nutritional value for you, but it’s also what feeds the bad bacteria in your mouth and helps them thrive. And when the bad bacteria start reproducing out of control, they begin to eat the protective enamel of your teeth and gradually start to form cavities. What this means is that soda, candy, ice cream and even ketchup, besides badly reflecting on your weight, are also destroying your beautiful smile. Actually, everything that’s artificially sweetened and goes into contact with your teeth is a risk to your oral health, including toothpaste. If you can, try to find a sugarless variant or toothpaste with Xylitol. More about that in the next paragraph.

Brushing Everyday Keeps Cavities Away

I cannot stress out how important it is to brush your teeth. Excess food lodged between your teeth can cause discolouration and plague to form. A tooth with plague is one step closer to getting a cavity. Brushing two times a day is the least you can do for your teeth. Actually, doctors recommend brushing after every meal, but since it’s sometimes impossible to do so, you can carry around a simple tooth floss which you can quickly whip out after eating.

On the topic of brushing, it’s also important to point out that you need to do it right in order to get the best results. What this means is that using the wrong type of toothpaste, instead of keeping your teeth healthy, can actually damage them. Toothpastes with sugar should be a big no-no. Yes, sugar is often a component in conventional toothpastes, put there to hide their unpleasant and bitter taste.

And since in the previous paragraph we elaborated on the damaging effects of sugar, it’s paradoxical to clean your teeth with something that destroys them. For this reason, dentists across the world recommend that their patients use toothpaste with Xylitol. Xylitol is a natural sweetener, that opposed to sugar, actually helps prevent cavities. This is because Xylitol is of no nutritional value to the bacteria in the mouth and is more effective at washing them down before they start attacking the teeth.

Moreover, Xylitol is great at keeping the mouth’s pH level in check, and a healthy pH level prompts saliva production, which keeps the mouth hydrated and prevents bad breath. This means that with the right kind of toothpaste not only will you prevent cavities, but also you will make sure that your mouth always smells minty fresh.

References:
https://www.naturallysweet.com.au/our-products/dental-products/toothpaste-mouthwash
https://authoritynutrition.com/how-sugar-destroys-teeth/