7 New Years’ Resolutions for Your Teeth

If you are looking for a New Year’s resolution that can make you healthier, more attractive, and happier this coming year, why not focus on your teeth? Oral health can make a huge difference in your general health, and taking care of your teeth can make your smile more attractive. Besides, there are many simple things you can do that will improve your oral health.

Floss Every Day

Everyone should be flossing every day already, but we know that many people aren’t. If you’re in a group that isn’t flossing every day, it’s time to start. Flossing more often will not only protect your teeth and help prevent gum disease, but it will also help control bad breath.

Brush the Full 2 Minutes

Another simple mistake that many of us make in our oral hygiene is that we don’t brush our teeth long enough. We’re supposed to brush for two minutes, but most people brush in less than one minute. To make sure you’re brushing long enough, you can use an electric toothbrush with a timer, bring a timer into the bathroom, or sing a timing song, like the Jeopardy! theme (30 seconds) or the ABCs (20 seconds).

Although doing distracting things like watching TV can be good, too, you don’t want to brush too long as this can be damaging to your tooth enamel and gums.

Avoid Acidic Foods

Acidic foods damage your tooth enamel. They can erode your teeth, causing them to turn yellow. The most damaging foods in this category are highly acidic sodas and sports drinks. Cutting these out of your diet entirely is the best choice, but if you are going to drink them, follow up with water.

Quit Smoking

We know that you’ve probably considered this for many years, and you may even have tried it once or twice. It’s important to try again once more for your teeth. Smoking dramatically increases your risk of gum disease, which means that it’s not only bad for your current teeth, it’s bad for dental implants as well.

Cut Down on Staining Foods

Are you unhappy with discolored teeth? Tired of short-lived results from teeth whitening? The best way to reduce discoloration of your teeth is to eat fewer staining foods. This means less chocolate, cola, coffee, tea, red wine, dark beer, and berries. Don’t like the thought of removing these from your diet? Try at least using a straw for staining foods and beverages.

Cut Down on Snacking

Snacking between meals isn’t just bad for your waistline, it’s bad for your teeth. Snacks give bacteria in your teeth additional fuel so they can multiply, creating more plaque, and respire, producing more acid that will damage your teeth.

See the Dentist

If you don’t see your dentist every six months, put that on your list of resolutions for this year. Seeing the dentist regularly means professional teeth cleanings will prevent many dental problems, and it allows your teeth to be checked to determine if there are any issues that need to be treated before they become too serious.

Get a head start on this resolution: schedule an appointment at Nicolas A. Ravon, DDS, MSD today.

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