Your Family’s 2018 New Year Teeth Resolutions
It is a New Year and time to start making New Year’s resolutions. This year instead of making the traditional New Year’s resolutions of being more active, studying more, procrastinating less, and eating healthier why don’t you go with ones that focus on improving the oral health of your family.
Are you ready to improve your family’s oral health but unsure how to go about doing that? Here are some examples of New Year’s resolutions you can make that will encourage your family to take better care of their teeth, gums, and mouth.
Encourage Your Family to Make a Commitment to Brush Each and Every Day
Ideally, it would be best to brush your teeth after every meal, but that is unrealistic. There are times when you just can’t get to the bathroom to brush your teeth. That is why dental professionals recommend you brush your teeth at least two or three times a day. Brushing at least two or three times a day is enough to remove plaque that builds up around your teeth.
Encourage your children, and yourself, as part of your New Year’s resolution to brush at least two times a day – before bed and in the morning. This will help improve your family’s overall oral health.
Make a Commitment to Floss Every Day
People are okay with brushing their teeth multiple times a day, but flossing is a different matter. People, especially children, hate to floss. It is time consuming, complicated, and not fun at all. Unfortunately, it needs to be done.
Flossing not only helps to remove food particles that have gotten stuck between your teeth, but it helps to remove plaque. Regular brushing is only successful in removing some of the plaque that builds up on your teeth, flossing helps to remove more.
If plaque is not properly removed, it can cause a number of problems. Problems associated with the buildup of plaque include bad breath, discoloration and staining of the teeth, gum disease, and cavities.
Make a New Year’s resolution to try and floss at least once a day. It might be hard at first because you aren’t in the habit of flossing, but eventually it will become second nature to floss at the end of the day.
Reduce Your Sugar Intake
Sugary treats are extremely tasty, but they can cause so many dental problems ranging from tooth decay to gum disease. As you enter the New Year make a commitment to reducing the amount of sugar you consume on a daily basis.
Some ways you can reduce your family’s sugar intake includes:
- Opting to drink water instead of sugary drinks like sodas and fruit juices
- Incorporating healthier snacks into your family’s diet instead of cookies or cakes
- Keep fruit around the house to satisfy any sugar craving
- Increase the amount of milk your family consumes
- Watch for hidden sugars in processed foods or meals served at restaurants
Reducing sugar intake can be difficult. Don’t try to cut sugar out all at once, but instead start with small changes. Over time, you will notice you aren’t craving sweets as often and you are making healthier food choices.
Protect Your Teeth by Eating Teeth-Friendly Foods
Soft, chewy caramels and hard crunchy candy may taste great, but they can really damage your teeth…and we won’t even talk about gummies—worst thing ever invented. This year try to make a real commitment to choose mouth-friendly or teeth-friendly foods. These are foods and snacks that taste good, but won’t crack or break your teeth or cause damage to any dental work.
Schedule a Visit to Your Local Dentist
Of course, you could follow all these New Year’s resolutions, but if you don’t visit your dentist on a regular basis, your oral health will suffer. Schedule an appointment with your dentist for the entire family.
During the appointment, your dentist will conduct a complete oral examination. He or she will look for any signs of problems such as built up plaque, tooth decay, cavities, or bleeding gums. If problems are spotted, your dentist will provide you with treatment recommendations that will help you improve your oral health. After an oral examination, a routine cleaning may be done to help keep your mouth healthy.
Don’t fall short of your New Year’s resolutions to improve your family’s oral health. Call Sunshine Smiles today to schedule an appointment with a pediatric dentist for your children.