Dental Health Week Top Tips For Your Teeth

You know that old saying ‘you are what you eat’!  Well, that’s especially true when it comes to the health of your teeth.

Almost half of us still consume too much sugar as part of our diet and that has a major impact on the health of your teeth and body.

Glenys Bloomfield is the Oral Health Educator at Bellarine Community Health. A big part of her job is to help people understand how to maintain healthy teeth and a healthy mouth.

Here are Glenys top tips:

  • Brushing teeth twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste is just the starting point for oral health. It’s reported that only half of Australians manage to do this!
  • Brush for at least two minutes with a soft bristled brush and gently brush 1-2 teeth at a time. Move your brush along to the next 1-2 teeth.
  • Brush with a circular motion so that the bristles make contact the gum as well as the tooth surface.
  • It’s also important to clean in-between your teeth before bed with a floss or interdental brushes as well because it removes plaque and helps prevent sick gums and holes in your teeth.
  • Visit the dentist regularly. You really should see your dentist every 6 – 12 months to make sure your dental health is good.

The big area that is often overlooked when it comes to oral health is our diet. One of the biggest changes we can make to our diets for good dental health is to limit the intake of foods with added sugar.

Added sugar in food encourages bad bacteria in our mouth to grow.  These bad bacteria produce acid. The acid lowers the PH in our mouths and increases the chances of our teeth getting holes.

The recommended intake of sugar per day is no more than six teaspoons. A 350ml can of coke contains nine teaspoons! A really easy way to lower your sugar intake is to replace cordials, juices, soft drinks etc with water.  Drinking plenty of tap water is one of the best tips for looking after your body and particularly your mouth.

You can chat to any our professional dental team about oral health and how to maintain a healthy dental routine.

Bellarine Community Health has a state-of-the-art dental facility at our Point Lonsdale site where we can provide general and emergency dental care for both public patients, full fee-paying patients and patients with Private Health Insurance dental cover.

If you find out more information about our services or make an appointment, call the dental team on 5258 0828 or email [email protected]

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