Resolve to A Healthy Smile

The New Year is a great time to start good habits, break bad habits, set new goals and get into a healthier mindset. Many take this opportunity to lose weight, be a better person, get out of debt, strengthen their relationships, get organized or learn a new skill. How about enhancing your dental health as a goal? Good dental health habits not only promote healthy teeth and a beautiful smile. But it contributes to your overall health as well. We would love to share with you some ways you can get the New Year started with some healthy dental habits!

1. Eat healthy foods. Eating well is important to your dental health. Nutrients in fruits, vegetables, dairy products and whole grains strengthen teeth and fight bacteria that cause gum disease. It is also a good idea to limit in between meal snacks. Especially sugary snacks. Another good idea is to chew sugarless gum. Chewing sugarless gum for 20 minutes following meals can help prevent tooth decay.
2. Blush and floss every day. Brushing and flossing your teeth are the first line of defense against oral health complications. If you don’t brush and floss as recommended, plaque can develop on and in between teeth, causing decay and gum disease, which can in turn lead to tooth loss or other health problems like heart disease. Dentists recommend brushing twice and flossing once each day.
3. Stop using tobacco products. Smoking and chewing tobacco are the leading causes of throat and mouth cancer. Not to mention the bad breath that comes along with such a habit. Other problems that come from tobacco use is cavities, gum recession, gum disease and teeth discoloration. Smokers are twice as likely to lose their teeth as non-smokers. The good news is that quitting smoking, or the use of smokeless tobacco will dramatically decrease your risk of tooth loss.
4. Visit your dental provider for regular visits. By seeing your dentist at least twice a year, you can help prevent any dental health problems before they cause discomfort or require more comprehensive or expensive treatment.

If your dental habits are lacking, 2019 is a great time to start establishing some new healthy dental habits. Don’t procrastinate until it’s too late and your unhealthy dental habits develop into tooth loss or even heart disease. You need your teeth and the longer you wait the costlier it becomes for solutions for you to have a healthy smile. We would love to see you and help you get started with a healthy 2019. Give Capehart Family Dental a call at (402) 885-8990 for help you with all your dental needs.

By Capehart Family Dentistry

January 7, 2019