Good oral health is essential in maintaining good general wellbeing. In a year so focused on illness, dental health can sometimes be forgotten about. Here are 10 quick tips and tricks to help you maintain your perfect smile.
1. Brush your teeth twice a day, morning and night. Make brushing your teeth the last thing you do every night to ensure you don’t eat afterwards.
2. Floss before you brush. This allows the toothbrush bristles and toothpaste to get further between the teeth.
3. Don’t forget to brush your gums and tongue too. These are spots that are often missed and harbor a lot of bacteria .
4. Wait at least 30 minutes after eating or drinking (anything other than water) before brushing your teeth. Otherwise the sugar and acid in food can slowly wear away the enamel on your teeth while brushing.
5. Drink sugary drinks like soft drink and fruit juice through a straw, to reduce the contact with your teeth. Also have a glass of water after to flush and help neutralise acids and sugars.
6. Chew sugar free chewing gum after meals. This stimulates saliva production to try and neutralise the acid and protect the teeth.
7. Eat the whole block of chocolate at once instead of snacking on it throughout the day. This is a favourite saying of mine, our society has a large snacking culture that is bad for our teeth. Diet is a significant factor in causing tooth decay as the continual snacking exposes our teeth to repeated attacks of sugar that our saliva can’t neutralise, leading to tooth decay.
8. Don’t put lemon or fruit in your water. This also exposes your teeth to continual sugar and acid attack that can cause tooth decay and tooth wear. If you have to put something in your water, make it cucumber.
9. Make sure you have different coloured toothbrushes for your family members. This avoids confusion and ensures toothbrushes are not shared. If a toothbrush is being shared so is the bacteria!
10. Visit your dentist or a friendly Queensland Country dentist every six months. Queensland Country dentists have a preventive focus and look forward to working with you to increase or maintain your oral health.
^ Dental sub-limits: The maximum benefit amount claimable per person for treatment/service in a specific area of dentistry per Membership Year. This is providing an individual person’s overall dental benefit limit for the Membership Year has not already been reached. Once the overall dental limit is reached, no further dental benefits can be claimed by this individual on any area of dentistry until a new Membership Year commences. Individual dental item benefits apply.
^^Dental sub-limits: The maximum benefit amount claimable per person and/or per policy for dental treatment/services per Membership Year within this sub-limit. This is providing
an individual person’s overall benefit for ALL other benefits payable under Select Extras for the Membership Year has not already been reached. Once the overall limit is reached,no further dental benefits can be claimed by this individual on any area of dentistry until a new Membership Year commences. Individual dental item benefits apply.
* Dental sub-limits: The maximum benefit amount claimable per person/per policy for treatment/service in dentistry per Membership Year. This is providing an individual person’s or per policy overall dental benefit limit for the Membership Year has not already been reached. Once the overall limit has been reached, no further dental benefits can be claimed by this individual or any other person/s on the policy on any area of dentistry until a new Membership Year commences. Individual dental item benefits apply.