preparing for unpredictable dental injuries

Posted on: 27 August 2015

You might often think about your diet and exercise in regards to having a strong, healthy body, but one thing that you might not often think about is caring for your teeth so that they stay strong and problem free. Strengthening your teeth doesn't involve exercise, but there are a number of simple things that you can do daily to ensure that your teeth stay strong.

Ensure You Are Getting Fluoride

One of the first things to make sure you do is to make sure that you are getting enough fluoride. Fluoride is a chemical deriving from fluorine that strengthens your teeth in a few ways. First, the amount of fluorine you intake can prevent cavities

Second, and most importantly, fluoride strengthens tooth enamel, which is the layer that protects the inside of your tooth from tooth decay. It does so by hardening the minerals that make up your enamel. Lastly, fluoride helps your teeth defend against harmful bacteria that can get inside your body from eating food.

Your tap water most likely has fluoride, but if it doesn't, fluoride supplements are available over-the-counter that you can take daily.

Eat Foods High In Vitamin D and Calcium

The next step in ensuring healthy teeth is eating foods that are rich with vitamin D, calcium, or both. Both of these minerals help in making teeth and bones stronger. Some foods that are in this group include egg yolks, cheese, fish, milk, broccoli, and green beans.

Visit the Dentist Regularly

It is important that if one wants to have healthy teeth that they visit the dentist. When you visit your dentist regularly, they can tell you whether or not you are doing everything correctly. Most dentists will offer tips and pointers on how to take care of your teeth as well. They might recommend a certain toothpaste, or show you a good brushing technique. In addition, the dentist can offer in depth cleanings that clean out one's teeth better than any toothbrush can. Lastly, the dentist can detect whether you have any types of harmful oral diseases.

Drink Water

Believe it or not, one of the ways in which you can help strengthen your teeth is simply by drinking water. Drinking water, especially after a meal, helps to wash away leftover food particles that your mouth's bacteria would otherwise feast on. Drinking water also increases your mouth's saliva production. Having plenty of saliva is important to help wash away harmful bacteria and protect your teeth.

Avoid Acidic Foods and Beverages

One last thing that one can do to help strengthen your teeth is to avoid foods and drinks that are acidic. The acid that is in some foods and drinks wears away enamel, thus leading to bigger dental problems such as various tooth and gum diseases. Some food and drinks high in acid include: fruits, sodas, carbonated alcohol like beer, and pickles. It isn't necessary to never eat those foods, but you should avoid them when you can.

When you do eat foods with a high acidic content, resist the urge to brush your teeth right afterward. This can actually push the acid deeper into your teeth, causing it to damage the dentin and creating a bigger problem.

Tooth health is a very important thing, because without your teeth, it can be difficult to eat or drink certain things. That, and it would be pretty embarrassing not having any teeth. In addition, dentures, and other dental procedures to fix teeth that have not been taken care of can be fairly costly.

If you want to take better care of your teeth, simply follow those five simple steps. The moment you do, your teeth will feel cleaner, nicer, and healthier. Click here to read more.