Learn about the best practices for healthy teeth

Brushing your teeth is only half the story. Discover habits that your teeth will love and learn how to keep them healthy!

 

Healthy habits for happy teeth

 

In order to keep your teeth white and to maintain good oral hygiene, you should know how to keep your teeth healthy with hotukdeals by adopting to some healthy habits and following these four simple steps:

 

1) Don’t forget to brush your tongue

 

Brush the back of your tongue thoroughly: this prevents periodontal disease as well as tooth decay. Like the rest of your body, your tongue removes dead cells from its taste buds. If these cells accumulate, your tongue will become infested with germs. Of course, in addition to your tongue, experts recommend gently brushing your teeth at least twice a day for 2 or 3 minutes and to floss regularly.

 

2) Have a dental check-up at least once a year

 

Experts recommend that people visit the dentist for a check-up twice a year. Over half of all dental visits are now preventative rather than restorative. Research has shown that there is a link between oral and overall health and regular check-ups help prevent cavities and oral health issues such as mouth cancer and gum disease from developing.

 

3) Limit sugary food intake to avoid cavities

 

Even though tooth enamel (the outer layer of your teeth) is one of the strongest parts of our body, consuming sugar can lead to cavities and tooth decay. Starchy foods should also be avoided: chips, crackers, pasta or bread linger in the mouth and break down into simple sugars. Those sugars then turn into acid, which draws out minerals from the teeth. Therefore, experts recommend eating phosphorous and calcium-rich foods such as cheese milk, chicken, and nuts.

 

4) Use fluoride to strengthen enamel

Fluoride is a natural mineral which, in small doses, helps to remineralise your tooth enamel. This natural mineral works against the destructive acid which is produced by the plaque, especially when used after meals and before bedtime.

 

How a marketer invented the habit of daily tooth brushing

 

As recent as a century ago, only 7% of people brushed their teeth daily and a dentist’s job was solely to extract teeth that were otherwise too painful to keep. That was before Claude Hopkins, a successful marketer for Pepsodent, started advertising the benefits of brushing your teeth. The father of scientific advertising was tasked with trying to sell a new toothpaste to the masses and, being inspired by the habit-making process, decided to try to apply this to tooth brushing. This is how he did it:

 

• Creating a cue: Hopkins encouraged the public to become aware of a “filmy” layer on their teeth, asking them to: “run your tongue across your teeth. You’ll feel a film – that’s what makes your teeth look ‘off-colour’ and invites decay.”
• Establishing a habit loop: to combat this filmy layer, Hopkins launched the “10 day test” and suggested that Americans got into the habit of brushing their teeth every day, thus creating a new need.
• Offering a reward: people were intrigued by the connection between the cue (the filmy layer) and the reward (clean, brushed teeth). Ten years later, 65% of Americans had a tube of Pepsodent in their home and the reward of the cool minty sensation after brushing convinced them that the toothpaste was effective.

 

Our dental health is a window to overall health

 

With today’s sugary diet and refined and processed food options, it is more important than ever to ensure that you are doing everything you can to protect your teeth and therefore, your entire body. The World Health Organisation is working towards the goal of reducing sugar intake worldwide by 2025. Why not go without added sugar for a week and see how you feel? Your teeth and body will thank you late. You might also want to check out cheap electric toothbrushes on latest deals.