Celebrate Oral Health Month this June.
Your mouth is just as important as any of your body parts; it’s only natural that we care about them too. Oral Health Month is all about oral health awareness. It is here to remind us about the importance of maintaining and developing good oral hygiene.
Colgate, in partnership with the American Dental Association, established June as Oral Health Month in 2012 with the goal to promote good oral by 2016. It may not be an official holiday, but it’s still a great time to learn about oral health and its importance to your whole family.
When Is Oral Health Month?
Oral Health Month is celebrated in June. It’s the first month of summer when parents and children can spend more time with their children, making it an excellent opportunity to teach and learn about oral health awareness and the importance of maintaining and developing healthy dental habits.
Parents can use the extra time to educate their children and learn more about dental health themselves. The American Dental Association can provide coloring pages and activity sheets that can help them teach their children how to brush their teeth and maintain good oral habits. Teaching children how to care for their teeth and why seeking oral health care from an early age encourages them to develop good habits and healthy, strong teeth.
Why We Should Take Care of Our Oral Health
Maintaining oral health helps us:
Keep Our Whole Body Healthy
Keeping your breath fresh is not the only result of taking care of your gums and teeth. It also helps keep your whole body healthy. Tooth decay may result in the spread of bacteria from the teeth to the heart and lungs. Periodontal disease also leads to pregnancy complications and heart disease. Keeping your mouth clean and healthy protects the rest of your body, preventing these complications from developing.
Preserve Our Natural Smile
Your natural smile depends on how well you take care of your teeth. Bacteria can thrive in your mouth if you don’t brush your teeth, floss, and have a professional cleaning done. They will feed off the sugars in your mouth and produce acids that can cause decay and cavities. Neglecting to have cavities treated will make them worse until they reach the roots of your teeth. Without having root canal therapy, you could end up with a severe infection and lose your tooth.
Achieve Healthy Smiles
Our society has unconsciously promoted good oral health through our preference for straight smiles. Straight, white teeth are a sign of good overall health, which is only achievable by maintaining a healthy mouth. However, some people do need cosmetic dentistry.
Healthy smiles are a sign of confidence and health; taking the time to achieve and maintain them is essential.
Easy Oral Health Care Tips
Improving your oral health may seem like a daunting task. Don’t worry; here are some simple and easy ways to care for your oral health:
Brush your teeth every day.
Aside from the basics of brushing teeth, here are a few more guidelines. Experts recommend brushing your teeth using a soft-bristled toothbrush with light pressure; brushing too hard with a stiff-bristled toothbrush wears down enamel.
Floss twice a day.
Flossing helps prevent gum disease, so make sure you floss between your teeth and behind your back molars. These areas are difficult for toothbrushes to reach; not cleaning them will give bacteria a place to grow.
Visit your dentist twice a year.
Visiting a dentist twice a year allows them to clean your teeth and monitor your oral health. It makes it easier for them to find any issue at its early stages and treat them right away.
Use dental night guards and mouthguards.
A mouthguard is an excellent way to protect your teeth if you play sports regularly. And if you ever get in a dental emergency, don’t wait an hour to get it treated; you might permanently lose your tooth and create a gap in your smile.
Stress can make you clench or grind your teeth unconsciously. You might not notice it; however, you might wake up in the morning with your jaws, ears, neck, and head hurting. Night guards prevent these stress reactions from wearing your tooth enamel and cracking your teeth at night while you sleep.
Consider straightening your teeth.
Consult your dentist if you have crowded or crooked teeth. Crowded teeth make flossing and brushing difficult. One of the ways to correct this is by straightening teeth. Invisalign aligner trays and braces improve your appearance and help improve your oral health in the long run.
Signs You Should Visit Your Dentist
Maintaining oral health is important, and so is immediate treatment. Make an appointment today if you experience any of the following:
- Cracked tooth
- Pain in a tooth
- Tooth discoloration
- Swollen jaws
- Tooth sensitivity to temperature and sweetness
- Swollen, red, and painful gums
- Bleeding gums while brushing or flossing
Ways to Celebrate Oral Health Month
Here are some ways to celebrate Oral Health Month:
Smile and take pride in your healthy teeth.
Show off your healthy and perfect set of pearly whites and share your tips for maintaining good oral health. You can post a photo of yourself, your smile, or your family members and friends taking care of their dental health.
Make a dental appointment.
Visit your dentist for a checkup, especially if it’s been a while since your last appointment. Maybe you can bring a friend or family member along for a visit. It’s also a great idea to share your experience and encourage others.
Take care of your dental problems.
Oral Health Month is the best time to sort out your dental problems. Try to learn more about all the things that can affect your oral health, and look for things you can do with your family to improve your oral health.
Teach your kids about oral hygiene routines.
Children love copying their parents and proving they’re big girls and boys. What better way to teach your kids about the correct way of brushing teeth and developing good habits?
Advocate about good oral hygiene routines and how they help your kid grow up healthy. Make them excited about brushing on their own by using cute toothbrushes or flavored toothpaste. Let them choose their tools, to help them feel responsible for their oral health.
You can also use videos as examples; try following one along with them. And lastly, give them praise for taking care of their teeth. They will be more than happy and proud to brush and floss if they know you’re proud of them.
Happy Oral Health Month From Advanced Dental Group
Our partner dentists in Clearwater, FL, are more than happy to check on your teeth and help you achieve your oral health goals. They offer only the best general dentistry services and teeth restoration that suit their patient’s needs and preferences. Contact us and take a step towards good oral health care today.
