New Delhi: World Oral Health Day is celebrated on 20th March every year. A day dedicated to oral health marks the significance of a healthy mouth to have a healthy body, and to spread awareness about the significance of healthy oral practices. The theme for this year 2019's World Oral Health Day is “Act on Mouth Health!” which urges everyone across the world to go for dental check-ups, practice proper care and improve oral health to have overall better health and keep your teeth and gyms shining and young.
Millions of people around the world suffer from bad oral health which can lead to various diseases. Poor oral health is not limited to effects in the mouth and can affect the overall health of the body. Poor oral health can be attributed to lack of education or limited resources. The theme for this year's World Oral Health day, therefore, urges people to take charge of their oral health themselves, and practice proper oral care to make sure the diseases are prevented and nipped in the bud. Here are 5 questions you must ask yourself about oral hygiene, and if the answer is yes, you are doing a good job at keeping your mouth healthy and clean. However, if the answers are no, you know what to do from today to make sure your body is free of diseases.
Brush: A lot of people brush regularly, but do they brush enough? According to the American Dental Association, you should brush your teeth for at least two minutes, and twice a day – once in the morning and once before you go to bed. If you have a problem in tracking time, try to play a song that is about 2 minutes long, and brush along.
No matter for how long you brush, and how many times you brush your teeth, if your toothbrush is not the right one for you, it may not help in keeping your mouth healthy. When picking a toothbrush, try to pick the one you think will be able to move around in your mouth properly, and which has bristles that can reach into your premolars to take out food particles or other debris trapped there. Most adults should use a small, or a medium sized brush. Your dentist may be the best person to tell you the type of toothbrush you should be using.
There is more to keeping your mouth clean and healthy than just brushing. Most people believe that just brushing your teeth twice a day should be enough to keep your mouth clean, and your oral hygiene perfect. However, brushing is just one of the steps to a clean and hygienic mouth. Flossing is another step to make sure that food, germs or debris stuck between your teeth. You must learn to floss properly, making a C shape by wrapping the floss around your tooth. Also, make sure you use a different section of the floss between two teeth to make sure you do not reinsert the bacteria you just removed from between your teeth.
Mouth Wash: Another step to keep your mouth clean is to use a mouth wash that can go where neither your toothbrush nor your floss can reach. Using mouthwash can help you clean your mouth thoroughly, and also give you fresh breath.
Scrap Tongue: When you brush your teeth, the bacteria can move from your teeth to your tongue and not get completely removed from the mouth. To ensure that you get rid of the bacteria completely, use a tongue scraper. A clean tongue will ensure a healthy mouth and also fresh breath.
