Dental hygiene during summertime is of great importance for a healthy smile and the well-being of your teeth.
Summer Dental Tips including home care and in office care from San Ramon Dentist Dr. Mohammad Khandaqji, DDS and the staff of Mona Lisa Smile Dental of San Ramon, CA. Besides, summertime presents its own sets of challenges with respect to your dental health. Understanding the above concepts can help you to maintain a great dental health. Being diligent will give you huge rewards with the passage of time.The Mona Lisa Smile Dental smile team wants to help you keep your family’s teeth healthy and safe with some tips that will also save you time and money.The oppressive heat during the summer months can play havoc with your dental health. Extreme heat and dry climates can harm your teeth and the surrounding tissues. Also, high humidity leads to excessive sweating, which eventually results in loss of hydration. This can be highly detrimental to oral tissues Here’s a list of some great tips to follow for the well-being of your dental health while having a lot of fun this summer.
Summer Oral Health Tips For The Kids
Get a New Toothbrush: If it’s been 3 months since you last changed your family’s toothbrush, it’s time to get a new one! We offer a brand new toothbrush after checkup and cleaning appointments. If your child is due for an exam, call us today – we’ll happily give you an Oral Hygiene Kit after your visit!
Eat Healthy Summer Snacks: If your child is spending time at camp or with a baby sitter, make sure to provide snacks that are healthy and good for their teeth like cheese sticks, veggie sticks, fresh fruit, dried fruit chips, and trail mix with nuts and fruits.
Stay Hydrated with Water: Help your child stay hydrated and prevent future cavities by giving water instead of sports drinks and soda. All that sugar can lead to increased cavities and expenses.
Invest in a Protective Mouthgard: If your child is staying active with summer sports or outdoor activities, talk to our dentists about a custom protective mouthguard or sportsguard.
Schedule Dental Checkups & Treatment: We know it’s always a challenge scheduling and keeping dental visits during the school year. Now is a great time to schedule your child’s checkup, cleaning and any treatment that you may have been delaying. Taking care of recommended dental treatment now before they become an emergency saves you time and money.
Summer Dental Tips For The Family
Keep Hydrated – Keeping yourself hydrated staves off tooth decay besides protecting your skin and gum tissues. Consume plenty of water and shun sugary drinks. For instance, lemonade can be the best summer drink, but citric acid and sugar with a dry mouth can result in tooth decay. Chewing sugar free gums or sucking on artificially sweetened candies can be ideal since it aids in the production of saliva which prevents tooth decay.
Protect your skin – The heat during the summer months may cause chapped, dry lips. This is why you need to protect your lips using lip gloss or balm. Try to find products with SPF factor which provide moisture to the skin. These products can also ward off possible risks of skin cancer. Remember that the lips are the most susceptible to burning compared to other parts of the body. Yet, most people ignore when it comes to protecting their lips from the harsh effects of the sun. Damage to your lips for a considerable length of time can result in skin cancer. This is why you need to use a lip gloss or lips with a SPF of a minimum of 15.
Snack intelligently – The best summer snack is undoubtedly fresh fruit. Choose the right fruits for the overall health of your teeth. For example, watermelon can be the ideal choice as it assists to clean the mouth on account of its high water content. However, citrus fruits are basically acidic and can result in the erosion of tooth enamel. If you opt to eat citrus fruits, take care to brush and rinse regularly so that the acid present in these fruits does not harm your teeth. Avoid roll ups and fruit gummies as they tend to get adhered between the teeth and remain longer if your mouth is dry causing cavities in between the teeth.
Use home humidification – To prevent your skin and mouth from drying, use a humidifier containing distilled water. This will avoid the drying out of your mouth and the chapping of lips.
Protect your teeth – A main activity during the summer months includes playing outdoor games. While being involved in such activities, it’s crucial to use a mouthguard for protecting your teeth. Mouthguards are cost-effective and can protect your teeth, lips, gums and cheeks. Wearing a mouthguard also ensures the prevention of grinding of teeth when you are playing.
Swim wisely – Too much of swimming in a pool can lead to erosion and weakening of teeth. This is because of high chlorine content in a majority of pools. In contrast, swimming in an ocean can in fact cut down oral bacteria because of the high levels of salt in oceans. However, if you decide to swim in a pool, make it a habit to brush following the activity to restrict damage from the chemicals present in the pool.
Eat healthy food when outdoors – Restrict the intake of sweets when outdoors for a prolonged period of time. Chips are a superior choice than cookies and water can be better than artificially prepared juices. Increase the consumption of protein and avoid white carbohydrates since these break down into sugars immediately in the mouth resulting in the breaking down of the enamel.
Never miss your breakfast – Many people tend to be somewhat relaxed during the summer months and skip the first meal of the day. However, remember that breakfast is the most important meal. When you miss breakfast, you have a tendency to snack on unhealthy items all through the morning. On the contrary, if you eat a full breakfast and then brush later, you won’t have the temptation to consume unhealthy foods.
What are the benefits of maintaining dental hygiene during summertime?
An attractive smile – If your smile is not associated to any disease like tooth decay or periodontal, it’ll be an attractive and healthier smile. Eating and drinking can leave stains on your teeth and with the passage of time, your teeth will tend to darken. Brushing and flossing on a regular basis will give you an increased possibility of removing these stains before they turn to be deeper stains which cannot be removed easily.
Improved breath – Good dental hygiene is associated to fresher breath. This is because you get rid of food debris while brushing which can keep the levels of oral bacteria low.
Greater self confidence – Research has indicated that a healthy and bright smile instills greater self confidence which can be of utmost importance in your relationship with others.
Prevents systemic health complications
Poor dental hygiene has been linked to periodontal disease, which when progresses, results in cardiovascular issues, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and strokes.
Saving time and money – Healthy oral activity indicates the absence of tooth decay or periodontal disease which indicates you’ll require less periodontal or restorative treatments.
Keeps your dental worries at bay – A major of patients with dental issues are worried about visiting the dentist. However, ignoring dental hygiene is similar to a ticking time bomb. So, for such patients it’s mandatory to make timely visits to the dentist and maintain a good dental hygiene.
Look younger as you grow old – A healthy smile can help you feel younger which acts as a catalyst while establishing relations with others.
Dental restorations that are long lasting – Dental restorations are usually associated to a life span. For instance, a dental crown normally lasts for 10-15 years provided you give proper care to your teeth. In the absence of proper care they last for only about 3-4 years.
