The benefits of maintaining good healthy teeth are well known. However, once teeth have serious issues or are weakened by treatments such as fillings or crowns, there is even more a reason to maintain good dental hygiene.
By maintaining a daily routine of good dental hygiene, you can increase your chances of keeping your teeth for a lifetime and reduce the risk of ongoing serious dental issues that could result in pain, discomfort, tooth loss, and unnecessary expensive procedures.
Having good oral hygiene is an essential part of keeping healthy teeth and gums, and maintaining the health of already weakened teeth is even more important. Here are FIVE preventative actions you can take to keep your teeth in tip-top condition…
1. Maintain Good Oral Hygiene
Just as with your natural teeth, the durability of crowns depends on how well you look after them. Gum disease and tooth decay can still occur to the tooth underneath the crown. The easiest way to avoid having a crown get decay underneath it is to pay special attention at home to the edges of the crown where it attaches to the tooth. Brush and floss are mandatory for long life of a crown. As well, special cleaning tools may be needed. Good oral hygiene and regular dental check-up and clean appointments can help your crown last longer.
2. Change Your Toothbrush
Toothbrushes should be changed every 2-3 months. Toothbrushes can be breeding grounds for germs, fungus, and bacteria, which after a while can build up to significant levels.
Even with a crown, the tooth underneath can still decay. Studies show that after three months of normal wear and tear, toothbrushes are much less effective at removing plaque from teeth and gums compared to new ones. The bristles break down and lose their effectiveness in getting to all those tricky corners around your teeth.
An electric toothbrush is also great for getting a clean, healthy mouth.
3. Have A Healthy Diet
What you eat has a huge impact on your teeth. A diet high in sugar increases your risk of developing cavities and gum disease while having highly acidic foods such as lemons can erode enamel.
If you have a dental crown, you should avoid chewy and sticky foods as these have the potential to grab and pull at the crown, which in turn can directly impact the overall life of the crown. Chewy and sticky foods to avoid can include chewing gum, caramel, chewy lollies, and even raisins. In addition to foods that are chewy and sticky, those that are hard should also be avoided as they can break a porcelain crown.
Following a diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables that is high in calcium will minimise your risk of developing dental issues.
4. Floss With Care
Dental floss is an important part of an important part of good regular dental hygiene. However, dental flow needs to be used more carefully around a crown. Try to gently slide it and not lift it out with force as you don’t want to lift the crown.
5. Having Regular Check Ups
Having regular dental check-ups can help identify any problems with your dental crown early on. Healthy mouths are recommended to get a professional clean at least twice a year. For those with more serious issues, more frequent intervals may be required.
To make an appointment or to speak to our expert friendly consultants please contact Somerset Dental Care on 1300 707 046.
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