Dental hygiene is essential for your oral health. Your Mississauga dentist can offer you tips for maintaining good oral hygiene to help prevent serious dental issues.
Some of the recommended ways to maintain dental hygiene and help prevent potential issues include:
- Getting professional dental cleanings and checkups every 6 months to remove hardened plaque that's accumulated on teeth and around gums over time
- Receiving fluoride treatment and using fluoride-containing products, like toothpaste and mouthwash, or drinking fluoride-containing water to help prevent issues like gum disease and tooth decay and help repair teeth
- Brushing your teeth for at least 2 minutes twice a day while holding the brush at a 40-degree angle to clean hard-to-reach areas
- Flossing at least once before bed to help remove food debris
- Avoiding chewing tobacco, smoking and drinking too much coffee and tea
There are several procedures you may need to help restore the health and function of your smile, including:
- Root canal therapy: A type of dental restoration used when someone has an infected or inflamed tooth that needs to be cleaned, disinfected and sealed.
- Dental implants: Another restorative procedure that replaces the tooth root with a titanium post in the event of tooth loss.
- Veneers: These porcelain restorations are similar to crowns, but they are cemented on the surface of teeth to hide issues like cracks, dents and yellowed teeth.
- Crowns: These are dental caps that fit over weak and/or damaged teeth to reimagine your smile and help reinforce teeth that are weakened due to dental restorations or dislodged fillings.
- Bridges: This restoration is similar to dental implants, but it just replaces the gap left from losing a tooth rather than the tooth root.
