Our team at Cottonwood Dental thinks that oral health just isn’t talked about enough. While everyone knows to brush their teeth and floss, are we all really taking the time to take care of our oral health? We should be, especially since our smile is an important feature!

This month, the Cottonwood Dental team wants to take the time to really help people focus on oral health and ways they can take their smiles to the next level.

Knowledge is power. When you really start to understand the importance of taking care of your oral health, you are more likely to follow through with taking the actual steps to care for your smile.

Consider the Bacteria

For starters, consider the role bacteria plays in oral health. Of course, it is understood that high-acidic foods like your favorite fruits, such as oranges and tomatoes, can wear away the enamel on your teeth.

However, not only can it do that and cause issues like cavities, but it can also cause an imbalance of the bacteria, particularly the oral microbiome. This, in turn, can cause additional issues when it comes to your oral health.

Your oral microbiome is extremely important in maintaining good oral health. Therefore, you need to maintain the oral microbiome in your mouth in order to help protect your teeth and keep your gums healthy.

While brushing and flossing your teeth can help to maintain this important bacteria, consuming a proper diet and eating prebiotic and probiotic foods can also help to improve the oral microbiome in your mouth.

Get Antioxidants

In addition, you want to make certain you are including antioxidants in your diet to help care for your oral health. Antioxidants are beneficial to your health by helping to reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers.

Also, antioxidants can help to improve your oral health by helping to prevent gum disease, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, affects approximately half of Americans 30 years of age and older.

Healthy foods high in antioxidants include:

• Dark chocolate
• Pecans
• Blueberries
• Artichokes
• Strawberries

Tackle Stress

Finally, it’s important to handle stress, as stress can also take a toll on your oral health.

When you are stressed, you tend to not take care of yourself as well, such as by eating poorly and possibly not brushing and/or flossing your teeth as much as needed. However, stress can affect your health in another way when it comes to oral health.

When your body is under stress, the saliva in your mouth actually starts to dry up and causes issues in the oral microbiome. If you start to not have enough saliva in your mouth, you increase your chances of getting tooth decay, increased plaque, mouth sores and gum disease.

Has it been over six months since your family visited the dentist? Contact the team at Cottonwood Dental today to set up appointments for the entire family!

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