How To Keep Your Smile Healthy When You Can’t See The Dentist

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus, many dentists are only seeing patients with serious dental emergencies, and are no longer offering preventive care or cosmetic dentistry until it’s safe to do so. And at Luck Family Dental, we’re doing our part to help slow the spread.

Unfortunately, that means you may not be able to see us for your regular teeth cleaning and oral exam for a few months. So, what should you do to keep your teeth healthy in the meantime? Let’s discuss a few top tips below.

1. Practice Good Dental Hygiene At Home

First and foremost, you should make sure that you’re practicing good oral hygiene at home. To keep your teeth healthy, you should:

• Brush your teeth at least twice a day for two minutes. If brushing twice a day, it’s best to brush in the morning when you wake up, and right before you go to bed.
• Floss once a day. You can floss whenever you want, either before or after brushing. Just make sure you use proper technique to remove plaque and food from between your teeth. Need a refresher course on flossing? Check out this video guide.‍
• Consider using mouthwash after you floss. Antibacterial mouthwash will kill bacteria in your mouth, and help rinse away debris that’s been loosened by flossing. 
  

These simple steps, when performed properly, can ensure that your smile remains healthy and free of gum disease and tooth decay.

2. Make Sure Your Diet Is Tooth-Friendly

Not sure what foods are good for your teeth? As a rule, any food that’s good for your body is also healthy for your teeth. Whole grain bread, lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products like yogurt and milk, and other such healthy items are great for your body and for your smile. 

And, on the other hand, highly-processed foods and sugary/starchy foods like candy and chips are not good for your smile, or for your overall health. 

Snacking regularly should also be avoided. Stick to a few meals a day, with one snack. If you snack frequently throughout the day, this will cause a buildup of sugar and starch that bacteria in your mouth will feed on, resulting in a higher risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

3. Be Careful With Your Teeth & Dental Work

You should take a few precautions to keep your teeth and dental work in good shape. Chew extremely hard foods like hard pretzels, almonds, and ice with your molars, not your front teeth. Avoid chewing non-food objects like pens and pencils.

If you have multiple crowns or fillings, you may want to avoid very chewy and sticky foods like caramel, taffy, and gummy candy, which could pull out or damage your dental work.

Finally, never use your teeth as “tools,” to do things like open packages or rip tape. Doing so could damage them. It’s never a good idea to use your teeth for purposes other than chewing! 

Follow This Guide Until You Can See Dr. Luck For Preventive Care! 

Soon enough, Luck Family Dental will be open and accepting patients once again. You can always give us a call at (803) 548-6370 to find out our latest estimate for when we’ll open. Until then, just follow the above tips to keep your smile healthy until you can see Dr. Leah Luck for your regular teeth cleaning and oral exam.