At Northwest Dental Group, the health and safety of our patients are paramount. That’s why we’re following CDC guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19 and only seeing patients for emergency dental care for the time being.
With that in mind, we wanted to continue our efforts to help you achieve and maintain your best oral and overall health with our dental blog. Today, we’re offering ways to get the most out of your oral hygiene routine at home until you can visit us again for a checkup!
Tips For Better Oral Hygiene Between Dental Visits
Here are three helpful oral hygiene tips to optimize your smile care at home while you wait to visit your Rochester dentist for your next dental cleaning and exam:
*Brush First Thing In The Morning*
While you sleep, oral bacteria spreads throughout your mouth. So as soon as you take your first bite at breakfast, it’s right there waiting to feast along with you. That process is what generates harmful acids that attack your tooth enamel.
That’s why brushing your teeth first thing, before you eat breakfast, is a good habit to start!
*Wait 30 Minutes After Eating Lunch Before You Brush*
You might be one of those people who likes to brush their teeth in the middle of the day. If so, you should wait at least thirty minutes after you eat lunch because your tooth enamel is softer after a meal. Brushing immediately could damage the surfaces of your teeth at their most vulnerable point of the day, which is after you eat.
Wait for a bit, or don’t brush at all. If you want your mouth to feel clean and fresh, rinse with water, and chew some sugarless gum, which contains acid-fighting components that protect your teeth!
*Clean Your Teeth Before Bed*
For most people, there’s a stretch of time between dinner and bedtime where you might have a light snack. That makes brushing and flossing before you go to sleep really important in preventing oral bacteria from causing problems for your teeth and gums.
If you don’t floss, there is no better time to start than now since you may have to wait a bit longer for a dental checkup than usual. Doing so before you go to bed will eliminate harmful bacteria from your mouth and the food particles it relies on for fuel.
Visit Us Soon!
Call Northwest Dental Group today at (507) 203-2332 to schedule your next appointment in Rochester, MN. Although we’re only seeing patients for dental emergencies at the moment due to COVID-19, we look forward to your next visit so we can do what we love, which is to help you get and stay healthy.
Stay safe!