Tips to Maintain a Healthy Mouth at Night
Nighttime oral hygiene is important because while you are sleeping, you are not swallowing. This allows the bacteria in the mouth to increase throughout the night. The nighttime goal is to avoid giving those bacteria anything to feed off. It is important to remember good oral hygiene. Brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash should be done at least once a day. The order does not matter as long as the food particles and plaque are removed. Usually the preference is for brushing, flossing, and then rinsing with mouthwash because brushing first makes it easier to floss afterwards. You can then rinse out your mouth with the mouthwash.
Knowing the Right Time to Brush Your Teeth
You can choose to brush your teeth right after eating, or before it is time for bed. This choice really depends on the person. We do not all have the same susceptibility to dental disease. We are now following medical models of disease to target treatment planning for patients and to determine how much additional care they need. People who are at a low risk for cavities and gum disease can certainly wait until bedtime to brush. This is because timing is not as crucial for them. Higher-risk patients would benefit from both an after-dinner and a bedtime brushing.
Always Remember to Floss Once a day
Flossing is important because it removes plaque buildup and any food particles that may be caught in between the teeth. It is necessary to remove the plaque while it is still soft. Once the plaque hardens and forms tartar, only a professional cleaning by a hygienist or dentist can remove it. Flossing once a day is the standard recommendation. Those who are very susceptible to gum disease or tartar buildup may want to consider flossing twice a day or even after every meal.
Why Grinding Your Teeth Can Cause Damage
Teeth grinding is considered to be an issue because the brain is telling the person to grind their teeth at night. While we cannot stop that from happening, we can protect the teeth from the effects of grinding. If grinding is an issue for you, the best thing to do is to have a mouth guard made and wear it at night. You will then grind into the mouth guard instead of your teeth, which will minimize the damage to your teeth. Grinding, is not as common as dental professionals recently believed. Many people clench their teeth, but true grinding occurs only among five to ten percent of the population. New studies show that the type of wear on patients’ teeth that previously thought to be produced by nighttime grinding is often the result of chewing your food. Issues with the way a patient chews can damage the teeth in a similar way. If your teeth hurt after you eat, there could be an issue starting to form. Make sure to contact us and we can inspect your teeth for you. If you keep up your daytime and nighttime oral hygiene routine, your mouth should stay in good shape.