Dental Tip of the Day:
Recently I went to the Dentist after having not gone in over
4 years. Now I know you’re going to ask,
if you haven’t been to the dentist in four years, how are you giving me any
tips? Apparently for being away from the
dentist that long my teeth were in really good shape. Not the best shape they could have been in…I
don’t want you thinking I’m advocating not going to the dentist because not
going is WRONG!!!!
I think my teeth are in good shape due to one thing I read
many years ago and have followed ever since.
Do not eat or drink anything
for at least 20 minutes after brushing your teeth. Yes, that’s
it! That is probably the only thing I’ve
followed that I’m supposed to do and it kept my teeth in good enough shape to
not rot out of my mouth! But, here is
the actual tip: It can be hard to wait
after brushing your teeth to eat or drink something. I remember I used to brush my teeth after getting
ready in the morning, it being the last thing that I did before putting my
clothes on. Sometimes it was the last
thing I did before running out the door and believe it or not, sometimes I
would run out the door, be close to work or at work and remember that I hadn’t
brushed my teeth at all.
Or, you get to work and you’re starving and you want to
eat. Maybe you grab something running
out the door to eat on your way to work.
Or even more classic, that cup of coffee on your way to work. Here’s the solution:
Brush your teeth before you get into the shower. Most showers take 10 to 20 minutes. Give or take another 5 to 10 minutes to get
dried off, put on lotion, deodorant, powder, etc and put on your clothes. There is your 20 minutes plus! Actually, the longer the better. It gives you time for the fluoride in your toothpaste to
work on your teeth.
If you are
finding yourself hungry before the 20 mins are up – If you forget to brush
before you shower or you are a person who showers the night before, sip on some
water instead of eating right away.
Water with Calcium and/or Fluoride is the best.
Again, I do
not want to advocate not going to the dentist.
I didn’t go for so many years because I had a really bad experience and
I was shell shocked. I finally found a dentist
that I was comfortable with and will continue to go back on a regular basis!
