Dental Care for All of Us

If you are concerned about the number of cavities that you may be developing, there are multiple things that you can do to help preserve the health of your teeth. Here are a few practices that you can perform to help avoid dental decay:

Rinse your mouth with water after you eat.

When you eat, the food that enters the oral cavity also feeds the bacteria in the mouth. When bacteria eat, they undergo a digestive process called glycolysis. One of the substances released after glycolysis is acid.

Acid demineralizes your tooth enamel to cause cavities. When you rinse your mouth with water, you help dilute the acid that may have been produced by the bacteria. In addition, water helps rinse away particles of food that could help feed the oral bacteria. The microbes themselves can also be rinsed from the mouth.

If you spit out the water after you rinse, bacteria are released or discarded with the water. If you choose to swallow the water, bacteria are still removed from the oral cavity and may be destroyed by the acids of the stomach.

Water that is fluoridated can harden the tooth enamel so that it is less susceptible to damage from acid. In addition, fluoride can increase the acid sensitivity of oral bacteria to limit their ability to feed.

Chew gum that is sweetened with xylitol.

Gum is easy to transport with you and can be chewed after meals. The elastic treat helps increase the production of saliva as you chew. In addition, the gum can attach to bacteria and plaque deposits in the mouth to pull them from the surface of the teeth. Also, gum that is sweetened with xylitol has no sugar available to feed the bacteria of the mouth. Additionally, xylitol has anti-bacterial properties that help prevent the bacteria from sticking to the teeth.

Don't drink soda.

Sodas are acidic and can dissolve tooth enamel in the same manner as the acid that is produced by oral bacteria. Research indicates that tooth enamel left in soda for 48 hours is reduced by five percent of its weight. In addition, if soda is sweetened with sugar, it can cause even more tooth decay.

Both tea and water are suitable substitutions for soda. Tea even has antibacterial properties.

To learn more things that you can do to help prevent the development of cavities, schedule a consultation with a dental clinic like Graylyn Dental.