Simple Steps for Keeping Your Teeth and Gums Healthy

1. Brush your teeth twice a day

Everyday, regardless of whether you eat or don't eat, plaque bacteria is accumulating on your teeth. Brushing regularly helps to disturb the growth of plaque that accumulate along the gum line and will eventually calcify to form tartar unless you brush. This eventually leads to gum disease as plaque and tartar irritate the gums and cause inflammation.

The proper way to brush your teeth is to point the bristles of your brush at the margin between your teeth and gums and make small jiggling motions with your brush. Begin with the upper teeth and start with the surfaces facing the cheeks. Slowly move your brush around the arch of your upper jaw until you finish at the other end. Turn your brush to the inner surfaces of your upper teeth that face your palate and do the same. Repeat the process with your lower teeth and finish by scrubbing all the biting surfaces of your teeth.

Make sure you brush for at least two minutes.

2. Use a fluoridated toothpaste

Fluoride strengthens teeth and protects them against the acid attack caused by bacteria. For individuals who are particularly susceptible to tooth decay, it is worth while speaking to your dentist about using a fluoride mouth rinse as an adjunct to brushing.

3. Floss your teeth at least once a day

Flossing helps to remove the plaque bacteria that grow in between your teeth that cannot be removed by the brushing action of your toothbrush alone.

The proper way to floss your teeth is to take a length of dental floss and wind up the excess around your two index fingers until there is only a short strip of floss visible between your two fingers. Slide the floss between your teeth so that it runs slightly under the gums then scrape it down the side of one tooth. Move the floss along your fingers so you have a "new" stretch of floss. Slide the floss between the same gap but this time scrape down the side of the other tooth. Repeat this procedure for all the gaps between your teeth.

4. Chew gum containing xylitol after meals

After eating, the bacteria in the mouth cause the mouth environment to become highly acidic which can lead to tooth decay. Chewing stimulates the production of saliva which neutralizes the acid in the mouth.

Xylitol is a sugar substitute that has the natural ability to inhibit the progression of tooth decay in the mouth.

5. Avoid snacking too often during the day

Every time you eat, the bacteria

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