Oral Care In Your 40s: The Dos And Don'ts

May 10, 2022

  

Entering your dashing 40s will require you to be extra careful when it comes to your health. Apart from eating healthy meals and regularly exercising, there are new things that you should care for to ensure great pearly whites. This way, you can delay your denture appointment and keep your natural teeth intact.

As you reach your 40s, there’s more care that you need to perform for your oral health because your teeth can get more brittle and weaker. Your main goal is to keep them healthy and strong all the time. To help you out, below are some oral care dos and don'ts in your 40s:

Visit The Dentist

One of the first things you should do when caring for your oral health is to visit your dentist regularly. Ideally, you should make an appointment every six months, so your dentist can identify if there are any issues that you should be aware of. They can address them immediately.

Moreover, a dentist will provide you with a cleaning service, ensuring everything’s clean inside and out.

As you go to a dentist to rely on your oral health needs, ensure that you look for the best one so they can provide the best care for your teeth and gums. You can visit various dental clinics like Today Dental, and see if you’re comfortable making your dental visits with them. Additionally, you might also want to look for nearby dental clinics in case of medical emergencies.

Brush Teeth Regularly

Brushing your teeth is one of the things that you should regularly do to maintain a healthy mouth. Dentists highly recommend that everyone should brush their teeth twice a day as a part of their daily routine. This will help you take care of your teeth and keep your mouth clear of bacteria and other future oral health concerns

Aside from helping you have clean teeth and a fresh mouth, brushing your teeth regularly also prevents toothache and any other tooth-related issues. As you brush your teeth, it gently scrapes away plaque which can develop into cavities if you ignore it. Furthermore, this can help you save money since brushing your teeth can avoid complications, thus minimizing your dental procedures.

Floss Daily

Regular flossing can also be a vital routine in maintaining your dental hygiene. There are a lot of benefits that flossing can do. Flossing can help you reduce the risk of cavities since it can help you clean the parts of your teeth that a toothbrush can’t reach. This way, you can guarantee that your teeth are thoroughly clean all around, even without your dentist’s help.

Another benefit of flossing is that it can help you eliminate plaque building up between your teeth and your gums. If there is plaque that is built over time, this can increase the chance of tooth decay and gum disease. Ideally, you should floss your teeth at least once a day, right before going out for work or school. This will help remove any plaque and food bits that might be stuck between your teeth.

Consume Enough Calcium

Your gums, teeth, and jaws are bones. To keep your bones healthy and strong, consuming plenty of calcium should be on the top of your list. This way, you can allow them to be strong, freeing you from any possible oral health complications. Moreover, calcium can also help fight bacteria, keeping your teeth away from damage.

While some people think that consuming calcium is only for children, everyone of all ages shouldn’t neglect this nutrient. Even in your 40s, you should still consume calcium, as this is an essential mineral for keeping your mouth and teeth healthy. If you can’t drink enough milk, taking some calcium supplements would be helpful, along with eating cheese.

Eat Crunchy Fruits And Vegetables

Plaque are commonly building up whenever you eat your food, and it combines with the bacteria already in your mouth. Eating a lot of crunchy fruits and vegetables may help avoid the build-up of plaques as they can gently brush away any plaques while helping to keep your teeth strong. Additionally, these produce can keep you from getting cavities, which then can help you avoid any tooth decay.

Naturally, fresh fruits and vegetables can help keep you healthy, but with their rigid texture, they can serve more for your mouth. There are many fruits and vegetables that are nutritional and have a lot of oral health benefits. You can choose to eat celery, carrots, and apples, for example. It'll be a great snack or side dish with your meals.

Avoid Eating Hard Foods

Consuming hard-to-chew foods isn’t good for your teeth, especially since your teeth are getting weaker and more brittle. This may cause some damage and make you visit your dentist more frequently than you plan. Even though you think that you can handle these types of food, you can still damage the enamel, and there is always a chance of chipping some parts of your teeth. Tooth enamel is a major tissue found on your teeth: damaging it would only cause more problems.
You should always keep in mind that hard foods aren’t good for your teeth since they increase the chance of complications in your teeth. It would be best to avoid and distance yourself from hard foods such as candies or any hard chips. While they might be tasty, they’re not good for your teeth.

Stay Away From Sugary Foods And Drinks

Too much exposure to sugar can be harmful to your teeth at any age as they put your mouth at risk of being too acidic. Ideally, you should avoid consuming sugary foods and drinks, like sodas, candies, chocolates, icings, and cakes. While they can be tasty, their high sugar content may hurt your teeth, allowing them to form cavities faster.

If you consume any sugary foods or drinks, you should ensure that you finish them with a cup full of water to flush them out and avoid them from staying on your teeth. This will help keep any sugar away, and allow you to be free from possible cavities. It'll be a gentle alternative to brushing your teeth whenever you’re on the go.

The Verdict

Taking care of your teeth in your 40s isn’t a walk in the park. You need to do plenty of things and it might require you to do some extra work. The benefits it’ll bring to your mouth would be worth it, though. This way, you can keep your pearly whites on for as long as possible, giving a great smile in every photograph.

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