Oral health: The classic mistakes revealed

Over the years it would be fair to say that oral health has become much more understood. Once upon a time it was thought that this was an area that was quite independent of the rest of your body, but now it’s become clear that this isn’t necessarily the case.

Nevertheless, most of us are guilty of making common mistakes when it comes to our oral health. Through today’s article, we will now mull over some of these classic faux pas to ensure that you don’t need any reconstructive dentistry like porcelain veneers as you get older.

Topping up on late-night acidic foods

As is the case with a lot of health advice these days, this first point might sound ridiculous. However, trust us when we talk about the perils of acidic foods – this is something that turn your whole saliva against your gums.

Of course, we’re by no means suggesting that you should completely avoid acidic foods, but if you can try and tone them down in the evening you will be doing no-end of wonders to your oral health. This is because your mouth can then digest the food properly, and the acidity level of the saliva is ultimately reduced.

You don’t scrape your tongue

It’s been a big debate for years, but we really can’t stress how important scraping your tongue is.

The benefits here really are aplenty. Firstly, it’s something that removes bacteria – and we’ve all heard about the problems this causes. Next, it is something which can activate your digestive system. Finally, you will clean your taste buds and unsurprisingly, these are one part of your oral health that tend to receive little attention.

You don’t floss properly

There has been a big emphasis on flossing over the years – and it’s for good reason. The benefits are well publicised, but despite this a lot of us still don’t carry out the advice. Or, those of us who do, don’t do it properly.

There are plenty of guides on how to floss, so we won’t jump into too many details here. All that we will say is that flossing kills the hard-to-reach bacteria – which also happens to be the bacteria which is most commonly associated with gum disease.

You go to bed much later than your last brush

As we all know, procrastination tends to be on the menu for most of us before we go to bed. Umpteen studies have confirmed this – and the temptation of mobile phones seems to be the main culprit.

If we sway away from the reasons why you go to sleep later, we do need to make a point about the time you brush your teeth and the time you turn the lights off. Leave this too long, and you run the risk of cavities developing. This is because cavities are more likely to occur in dry mouths (which happens when we retire to bed). Ultimately, you need to be doing as much as you can to protect these teeth at night-time, and brushing as close to this time as possible is the best way to do this.