What You Should Know About Home Dental Care Education
Although oral hygiene is paramount to overall health and hygiene, many people are still apprehensive to visit a dentist. Dental anxiety is common in both children and adults. This is why it’s important to learn about home dental care education.
Home dental care education ensures optimal hygiene and helps you avoid costly dental issues. You can prevent tooth decay, tooth filling, gum disease, root canal therapy, and other associated dental problems like oral surgery with home dental care.
Worried about dental anxiety or dental care for children? If yes, all you need to do is make sure your home dental care is excellent. Although you will still visit the dentist, it will only be for routine check-ups and not the visits that can cause fear to you or your child.
Home dental care education has two main objectives as illustrated below:
- Improve Access to Oral Health Care
Home dental care education aims at delivering optimal oral health care while minimizing frequent visits to the dentist. Luckily, home dental care focuses on the basics that often lead to severe oral injuries if not taken care of. The significant facets of home dental care include;
- Diet
Diet is the primary facet of the dental community. Get your diet right at home and avoid nearly all dental-related problems. First, avoid cavities, rotting teeth, and cracks by carefully selecting what you eat. Avoid sugary foods stain-causing drinks like coffee, cola, and red wine. You should also avoid very crunchy food.
You should prioritize foods that increase tooth health and calcium supplements. You should eat fruits such as citrus and drink milk. By getting your diet right, you gain both oral and overall health.
- Brushing teeth
While almost everyone brushes their teeth, few people brush their teeth as recommended by the dentist. You should ensure that everyone at home brushes their teeth at least two times each day, and most importantly, after meals.
You should also be using fluoride toothpaste to kill all germs present in the mouth. And choose a toothbrush with soft bristles.
- Using mouthwash
Mouthwash can work wonders! Mouthwash is available over the counter and easy to get. Ensure you use it as prescribed, and you are guaranteed to keep plaque and gingivitis in check. Even though the brand doesn’t matter, ensure you pick one that does not irritate the mouth.
Dental Care for Children
Due to busy lifestyles, it’s impossible to keep taking children to the dentist. Prioritizing your children’s oral health at home is key. Early dental care gives your child healthy teeth and a perfect smile, enhancing their confidence. There are many things that you should understand about dental care for children.
- Prevent children from getting tooth decay
Many people fail to understand that babies too can get tooth decay. You should rub your baby’s gums with a warm, soft cloth to wipe away bacteria. Also, ensure the bottle is away when putting your baby to sleep due to the sugars present in milk.
- Start fluoride toothpaste at age 2
You should brush your kids with plain water before age two. After age two, introduce fluoride toothpaste in small amounts. Fluoride prevents tooth decay and makes the teeth stronger. It would help if you supervised them as they brushed. Also, ensure you use a toothbrush with soft bristles on your kid.
- Start dental visits early
Dental home care does not stop at home. It’s advisable to take your child to the dentist to check up as early as when the first tooth emerges. Dental visits from an early age of two ensure optimal oral health and help beat dental anxiety in the future.
Conclusion
At-home dental care entails getting the basics right. You will benefit greatly from it and prevent many teeth-related problems. By getting clinical cleanings regularly, you optimize home dental care. You also save on the amount you would spend on dental treatments.
However, you should ensure you supplement your home dental care with bi-annual dental visits. The dentist checks up on your oral health during these visits and gives you useful recommendations. You also get supplemental dental education to use at home during those regular visits. Choosing a professional dentist like Wellesley Dental Arts would be helpful.