Brushing your teeth in the morning is a routine nobody fails to do. But after a hard day’s work, we are so tired that sometimes we just crash to bed after dinner, without bothering to clean our teeth.
This results in poor oral hygiene causing bad breath. Studies report that about 50 – 65 percent of the working population suffers from bad breath.
The main villains:
If food remains in your mouth for a long time, it increases the chances of tooth decay. Rinsing your mouth immediately after eating is a good habit, especially if you have just eaten something sweet. This will prevent the formation of plaques.
Both, rinsing after meals and brushing teeth twice daily, are critical to keeping tartar and plaque at bay. Use clinically-tested toothpaste that provides longer protection.
Adversely affecting oral habits are smoking, chewing betel nut and tobacco. These habits lead to bad breath, tooth decay, gum disease, damage to tooth enamel and eventually tooth loss.
Knights in shining armour:
- Dentists say that poor oral hygiene is the main cause of gum disease and tooth decay. Hence, along with brushing your teeth twice a day, it is also important to clean your tongue regularly. This practice reduces bad breath and improves oral hygiene as a large number of bacteria reside in the rough corrugated surface of the tongue.
- After you eat a high-sugar snack, rinse your mouth with water, and then eat a small piece of cheese or chew some sugar-free gum. Cheese provides calcium to replace the lost minerals and helps to even up the bacterial balance in your mouth. Chewing gum also stimulates the flow of saliva. Opt to drink your soft drink with a straw. This will limit the amount of sugar that touches your teeth.
- The best drinks for teeth are plain water or milk. Drinking coffee or tea stains your teeth and dries your mouth. Caffeine inhibits your saliva’s ability to combat tooth decay. Acidic drinks like orange juice can also attack your teeth.