Proper Oral Care During the Holidays
It is important to take care of your teeth, even as the holidays are going on. Proper oral care is an easy enough task with some planning, and here are some tips to maintaining that level of proper oral care through the festivals, holiday treats and more.
Floss Often
Keep floss in your car or bag, and floss whenever you think about it. Every time you taste the freshness of clean teeth just after a family dinner or fresh batch of holiday cookies, the accomplished feeling is its own reward for the time spent using that floss. Make sure you hit both sides of the teeth, thoroughly cleaning the sides of each tooth and clearing out the area between the teeth with gentle but thorough motions.
Gum Care
Proper gum care is an immensely important part of brushing. It is important to clean the entire surface of the teeth when brushing, but even more important is to get the gum line, including the lower gums—this is where your teeth are most vulnerable to plaque build-up. While an electric tooth brush is ideal, a non-electric tooth brush will do the job if at least 30 seconds is spent on each quadrant of the mouth.
When dividing the mouth into quadrants, draw a line right down the center of your face, from the tip of your nose straight down to your chin, and draw the other line between your top teeth and your bottom teeth, and you should have a pretty good idea where each quadrant is. Many electric toothbrushes buzz every thirty seconds to let you know when to switch to the next quadrant. In fact, a tooth brush or some floss make for great stocking stuffers to promote proper oral care during the holidays!
Fluoride Rinse
Finally, a good rinse job with your fluoride rinse will finish up the oral care experience. Make sure to swish properly in each quadrant, spending at least 15 seconds in each. Also, be mindful of how long you wait before eating or drinking, some rinses recommend waiting a half hour to an hour before doing either of these things. This is recommended following a large family dinner to really clear away the many dishes and desserts the holidays bring with them.
Overall, it is all about setting reminders for yourself and being thorough as the holidays come along. Hit both sides of your teeth, and keep some floss with you in your car, purse, backpack, etc. so you can do it on the go. When brushing, really focus on the gum line, as the place where the teeth meet the gum line is the most vulnerable to bad stuff showing up. Make sure to spend at least 30 seconds in each quadrant. When rinsing, follow the instructions on the bottle, and swish for at least 15 seconds thoroughly in each quadrant. Following each of these practical rules makes it easy to maintain proper oral care during the holidays and brings more cheer and spirit to your smile!
Robert Seitzinger is a copywriter and SEO analyst for Verticalwerks. Learn more about proper oral care during the holidays and beyond at Elliott Family Dental.
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