By definition, emergencies strike when you don’t expect them, and dental health crises can be incredibly stressful and frustrating. Fortunately, there are a few excellent and easy ways to prevent dental emergencies and protect your oral health, and knowing your smile is safe can give you a great deal of peace of mind. Here’s a brief guide to several tried and proven methods for avoiding oral health disasters.
Practice Excellent Oral Hygiene
Severe toothaches are often caused by advanced tooth decay, and these oral infections will not go away on their own. This sort of oral pain can be debilitatingly horrible, and addressing it may require restorative treatment or possibly a tooth extraction.
Thankfully, you can prevent cavities with a powerful oral hygiene regimen. The American Dental Association recommends the following daily habits:
- Brush at least twice to eliminate plaque and food debris.
- Floss at least once to clear deposits from the spaces between your teeth.
- Use antibacterial mouthwash to kill massive numbers of harmful oral bacteria and keep your breath minty and fresh.
Limit Your Consumption of Sugar
Eating sugar sends pleasure signals to your brain because it is rich with simple chemical energy that the body can easily absorb, but this also makes it the perfect fuel for harmful oral bacteria. Consuming candy, drinking soda pop, or overindulging on pastries will leave a sugary residue on your teeth that can feed destructive germs and set you up for nasty infections like tooth decay and gum disease. While oral hygiene will eliminate much of this buildup, reducing your sugar intake can help prevent the problem in the first place.
See Your Dentist Regularly
It’s important to see your dentist at least twice a year for routine exams and cleanings so they can monitor your oral health, address problems in their early stages, and recommend better oral health habits for you to practice at home. These meetings can allow you to prevent oral infections and mitigate the damage they cause, which can help you avoid dental emergencies such as severe toothaches, dental abscesses, and the loss of dental restorations.
Dental emergencies are not fun, but avoiding them can be incredibly easy. Consulting with your dentist can help you learn more about how you can keep your teeth safe and healthy.
About the Practice
White Clay Dental offers the finest oral health services in Newark. Led by Drs. Donald T. Bond and Timothy D. Ganfield, the staff ensures that each patient enjoys friendly service and effective treatment in a warm and welcoming office environment. Areas of expertise include general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry. To learn more about preventing dental emergencies, contact the office online or dial (302) 731-4225.