As the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, our normal daily affairs have changed dramatically. It can be difficult nowadays to personally check out this dentist in Lincoln Park for example. Aside from keeping mental and physical aspects, one must maintain a strong immune system as well. A key factor in keeping one’s body’s defenses, is a healthy oral cavity.
Although public engagements are restricted, practicing good oral care shouldn’t slip one’s mind even on a pandemic. If you’d like to pull up your socks and give your mouth the best care during the pandemic, here are a few essential tips to help you do so.
1. Schedule An Online Dental Consultation
Owing to the pandemic, almost all health care providers such as dental clinics offer customers with a scheduled appointment or an online consultation. Since keeping your pearl white requires regular check-ups with your dentist, it is recommended that you even have a virtual consultation.
Visiting a dentist has many advantages, including consultations and early treatments of possible oral problems. Countries like Singapore and many others now have state-of-the-art facilities to cater for any oral health issues. For more about this, you could check out Ocean Dental Singapore and many others like them.
2. Avoid Unhealthy Snacks
For most people, the COVID-19 pandemic came with many social changes, including new eating habits. The lock-down gave some people a chance to snack whenever they feel like it. This has paved the way for new grazing habits that tended to be hazardous to oral health.
Although it can be tempting to snack on sweets like chocolate, it’s advised not to. Sugars are said to be one of the leading causes of dental problems like tooth cavities. Some doctors have recommended no more than two snacks and three meals a day. Should you decide to exceed this recommendation, try healthy options like yoghurt, crunchy vegetables, and fruits.
3. Eat Balanced Diets
In such a pandemic as COVID-19, you need your immune system to be at its best. Eating a balanced diet has always been recommended as a great way of boosting your immune system and improving your health and well-being–– and this also includes your oral health. For the best oral health, it’s recommended to eat food such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products.
4. Drink Lots Of Water
Drinking enough water is said to significantly reduce the chances of oral problems like bad breath, tonsil stones, dry mouth, and even tooth cavities.
When you’re stuck at home in this pandemic, it’s easy to sip on beverages and juices that may be potentially detrimental to your oral health. If you ever get such a temptation, remember your oral health and drink plenty of water instead.
5. Gently Brush Your Teeth Regularly
Brushing your teeth at least twice a day is the standard recommendation, but you have the license to brush as many times as you like to keep your teeth safe from plaque. Plaque is the sticky substance that typically forms on the surface of your teeth. If left undealt, it could cause oral issues like dental cavities and gum disease. One proven way of getting rid of plaque is to brush your teeth correctly.
The best way to brush your teeth, as suggested, is through gentle circular motions. Brushing with too much force could damage your gums and cause bleeding. Also, when you brush your teeth, don’t forget to give the tongue and roof of the mouth a gentle brush as well. If you neglect cleaning your tongue, you risk accumulating bad bacteria, which might lead to oral conditions like oral thrush and gum disease.
6. Floss Regularly
Sometimes, brushing your teeth might not cut it. To remove the bits of food stuck in between your teeth, you may need to use dental floss. Flossing also goes beyond just getting rid of stuck food; it’s said to be a great gum stimulator and one of the perfect tools for removing plaque that might build up between the teeth.
7. Use Mouthwash
After brushing and flossing your teeth, you could also consider reinforcing your oral hygiene using an approved mouthwash. Mouthwash has a great advantage of reaching areas a toothbrush and some dental floss may fail to reach. These include the back of the mouth and others areas. Using mouthwash regularly, will help you in having a good dental condition.
8. Disinfect Your Toothbrush
With the scourge of the Coronavirus, it’s important to disinfect your toothbrush now and again. Depending on the environment, the virus is said to survive for up to three days on a surface.
One suggested way of disinfecting your toothbrush is by soaking it in a solution with 0.5% hydrogen peroxide for about 15 minutes. The solution is believed to kill the Coronavirus in about a minute. Other suggested ways of keeping your toothbrush safe from bacteria include rinsing it in hot water and making sure you don’t share it with anyone.
9. Other Practices To Try
To avoid spreading or catching the coronavirus. There are many other hygiene practices you could try. These include the following:
- Avoid touching your mouth
- Drink fluoride water
- Avoid smoking tobacco
- Drink less alcohol
- Don’t share utensils
Conclusion
Oral care is essentially about practicing good oral hygiene. It should not be taken for granted and should be done regularly to avoid dental problems. Despite the heights of the global pandemic, one must take good care of their oral cavity as it also affects one’s immune system. Oral hygiene on its own may be futile if it’s not complemented with an overall healthy lifestyle. Hence, try to eat well, clean your mouth, and get checkups. Hope these tips will help keep you and your loved ones safe during this dreaded pandemic. Stay safe.