Oral hygiene is important day and night, but you may think there isn’t much you can do at night to keep your teeth healthy. In fact, there are several things you can do that will improve your oral health!
Gairhan Dental Care works hard to keep the teeth of our Jonesboro, AR, patients healthy with regular cleanings and examinations. We also encourage our patients to perform routine tasks that will keep their teeth healthy and strong. The most obvious is to brush your teeth every night before bed, but did you know there are other things you can do to help? Let’s look at a few habits to improve oral health.
Nighttime Habits for Healthy Teeth
Oral hygiene is important throughout the day. You should brush your teeth in the morning and brush after lunch if you can. You want to stick to a diet low in sugary foods to avoid excess plaque leading to tooth decay. You also want to cut back on sugary drinks, particularly sodas.
While all these daytime habits help, your nighttime habits are just as important for keeping your teeth healthy and strong. These habits go for children and adults! Here are some suggestions for starting at dinnertime and lasting until bedtime.
Stop Sugary Foods and Drinks After Dinner
The less sugar you ingest before bedtime, the less you have to clean off your teeth, and the less bacteria grows in your mouth while you sleep. Sugar forms plaque on your teeth, which traps bacteria against your enamel — the hard outer shell that protects the inner living portion of your tooth. That bacteria will eat away at your enamel, decaying the tooth and causing cavities. Cutting back on sugar helps lower your chances of tooth decay.
Drink Water Before Bed
Water cleanses your teeth and gums, reducing the chances of tooth decay and gum disease. Water also keeps your mouth moist, preventing dry mouth, which can also cause bacteria to grow rapidly. Plus, water is just good for you overall!
We know what you’re thinking: Drinking water before bed means getting up in the middle of the night for a bathroom trip. Here’s a solution: Drink lots of water until about half an hour before you go to bed. Take that bathroom trip, then, then again, right before you slip under the covers. That way, you can get healthy teeth and plenty of sleep!
Floss Your Teeth!
You probably think you should brush your teeth first, then floss. Actually, that’s backwards! You should floss your teeth first because flossing loosens and removes plaque and food particles from between your teeth. Some of that plaque and particles end up on the surface of your teeth. That’s good because then you can brush it all away. By flossing first, you can get your teeth even cleaner than if you flossed after you brushed!
Brush Your Teeth!
This is the most obvious one: You should always brush your teeth before bed! If you’re going to do the next step (and we’ll get to that shortly!), you should brush your teeth at least half an hour before bed.
When you brush, use a soft-bristled toothbrush to prevent gum irritation and the wearing down of your enamel. You should use fluoride toothpaste (almost all of them are nowadays) and brush for at least two minutes each time, making sure to cover all sides and top of each tooth. If getting your back teeth is tricky, try using an electric toothbrush. It does the scrubbing for you, so you can maneuver it into place to get the back of your teeth cleaner than with a manual toothbrush.
Ensure you don’t eat or drink anything for at least half an hour after brushing so the fluoride has time to react with your saliva and protect your enamel better.
Use Mouthwash
A fluoride mouthwash provides extra protection for your enamel and gums. Should you use mouthwash before bed? You certainly can, but use it half an hour after you brush so your toothpaste fluoride has time to work first. That way, the mouthwash adds to the protection. Otherwise, using the mouthwash right after you brush simply washes away the toothpaste fluoride. Waiting half an hour doubles your fluoride protection. That extra protection will help prevent sensitive teeth!
Many people prefer to use mouthwash in the morning after brushing, mainly because they want to keep fresh breath as long as possible during the day. Let’s face it — you encounter more people during the day. You only need to use mouthwash once a day, so you can choose the time you prefer, whether first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Either way is good!
Other Ways to a Healthy Mouth
These are the basics of keeping your teeth healthy. There are other things you can do at night. For example, if you’ve recently ended your orthodontic treatment, you need to be sure you wear your retainers to keep your teeth from moving out of place.
Snoring and sleep apnea can cause oral health problems. Breathing through your mouth rather than your nose can cause dry mouth and increase bacteria growth. Talk with us if you believe you suffer from snoring or sleep apnea! We can recommend treatments to reduce or eliminate your symptoms and improve your oral health!
Healthy Teeth, Happy Smiles
Dr. Gairhan and the team at Gairhan Dental Care want you to have a healthy smile that can last a lifetime. That’s why we provide high-quality dental care and cosmetic dentistry options such as dental implants and veneers. If you ever have an accident or infection, our emergency dental services can take care of you when you have unexpected dental needs.
If you’re in the Jonesboro, AR, area, schedule an appointment for your semi-annual cleaning and examination. We want you to keep your teeth clean, strong, and healthy, and we want to help you with exceptional dental services. Working with Gairhan Dental Care, you can enjoy your amazing smile for years!
