I had a little scare when I went to the dentist last, well I suppose that is an understatement, I freaked out and almost cried. The words “gum disease” came into the conversation and I literally nearly cried in the chair, I didn’t listen to anything else she said. I had already gone into panic mode. Then the treatment came. OUCH!
So basically I have lovely strong teeth, but where I haven’t been to the dentist for a good few years and I didn’t floss very regularly – my teeth were a little covered in tartar. Ew! I know it is gross. It scared me because some days I clean them up to 4 times, as I hate my teeth being unclean and I felt horrid in the dentist chair. But this is usually controlled when you visit the dentist and they give you that little clean with that little scraping tool. I had let it build up over years and years, I am talking about 4 years. Disgusting I know, but I hadn’t thought about going until my sister gave me a what for! She used to be a dental nurse. So after panicking about my teeth, because of those words “gum disease” and having the clean up treatment to get rid of the tartar, I came out of the dentist and called my sister.
Her advice calmed me down a lot, and I listened to her as she didn’t scare me with scary words. What I have is very common, most people have it, due to lack of flossing and an irregular cleaning pattern. I have great teeth, to look at, they are clean and no markings on them, they are strong teeth. Pregnancy can make your teeth change and my body has been through two spouts of that since I was last at the dentist, which makes sense.
She gave me some tips on looking after my teeth, to make my dentist proud when I go back in April.
Tips for looking after your teeth
- Clean your teeth before eating. Not straight afterwards. I clean my teeth when I wake up and when I go to bed.
- Use mouthwash after you have had your evening meal. Do not brush your teeth directly before or afterwards. I use the mouthwash after I have had my dinner. I am currently using Corsodyl.
- Floss your teeth once a day. Use a swiping up motion to each side of your tooth when flossing. Floss after you have cleaned your teeth. I do this in the evenings.
- When brushing your teeth, do not rinse your teeth completely, leave the toothpaste residue on your teeth. I used to rinse and spit until it had all gone, so I have stopped doing this. It has worked to keep my breathe fresher and teeth look a lot whiter.
So there you have it, some tips that you can incoporate into your teeth cleaning regime. The moral of this post is to make sure you visit your dentist regularly. I certainly will not leave it more than 6 months, ever again. Lesson learnt! I can carry on smiling… Check out dentist Hertford for more information on how to look after your teeth in-between appointments.
