Visit your dentist at least once every six months. To maintain healthy teeth and gums, it’s important to have regular check-ups and professional cleanings. You should also see your dentist if you have pain in your teeth or mouth or bleeding, swollen gums.
You can also ask your dentist about dental sealants. Sealant is a material used to coat the top, chewing surfaces of the back teeth. This coating protects the tooth from decay and usually lasts a long time.
Eating Right and Dental Health
For good dental health, eat a variety of foods, avoiding those that contain sugars and starches. These foods produce the most acids in the mouth, and the longer they stay in the mouth, the more they can damage the teeth. Hard “sucking candies” are especially harmful because they stay in the mouth a long time.
Snacking on sugary foods can lead to tooth decay, because most people don’t brush after snacks. Starchy snack foods, like potato chips, stick to the teeth. Avoid snacking on:
- Candies, cookies, cakes, and pie
- Sugary gum
- Crackers, breadsticks, and chips
- Dried fruits and raisins