Maintaining your mouth clean and healthy is very important. This not only serves the purpose of maintaining the health of your teeth and gums but is
also important for maintaining your overall health as potential problems can arise if your teeth or gums are not in good shape.
Many people are under the wrong impression that oral hygiene is only about brushing the teeth. Brushing the teeth is just one part of the oral hygiene.
Other oral hygiene habits should involve maintaining the gums and the surface of the tongue clean and healthy.
Brushing your teeth will involve the use of toothpaste and
an ordinary toothbrush or an electric toothbrush. Brushing
will not only help remove accumulated food particles from tooth surfaces it will also rid the teeth of plaque and bacterial growth. Care should be
taken to clean all the surfaces of the teeth and every tooth should be given adequate care so that nothing remains on the surface. Brushing after meals
is very necessary as once a day brushing will not suffice in eliminating bacterial growth.
Flossing the teeth will help remove any food or plaque that is present in between your teeth. Stimulation from your brush will help in keeping your
gums healthy. But, you can benefit a lot more if you are incorporating a mouthwash as part of your oral hygiene. This will be more
effective in reducing the bacterial growth in your mouth and keep gum problems like gingivitis and periodontitis at bay.
Bad breath is caused due to bacterial release of sulfur compounds. Along with bacterial accumulation on the teeth and gum surfaces, bacterial growth is
also seen on the surfaces and crevices of the tongue. So, unless you clean the surface of the tongue with a tongue cleaner or your toothbrush itself,
your oral hygiene routine will not be complete.
Follow oral hygiene routines diligently. Also, do not forget to visit your Dentist at regular intervals as you may never realize that you might be
suffering from some dental problem that needs immediate attention.