Getting a brilliant smile - good oral hygiene
Getting a brilliant smile can only come after following good oral hygiene techniques. This means making sure that you brush your teeth regularly and properly to prevent the build up of tartare and tooth decay, as well as preventing things like bleeding gums.
Obviously one of the steps towards this is making sure that you attend your dentist regularly for check ups, but there are also ways you should look after your teeth in-between visits to ensure good oral health.
You need to brush your teeth twice daily and make sure that you floss daily also. Eating a good healthy diet without too many snacks or sugary refined foods also helps. Use dental products which contain Fluoride (check your toothpaste). Your dentist may also advise you to rinse with a mouthwash containing fluoride.
Your oral health is determined by more than just brushing and your diet and overall health may also affect this as well as the level of saliva in your mouth. For example, if you are taking a medication there is a chance that this could reduce the amount of saliva in the mouth and lead to dental health problems. Pregnant women can also experience an alteration to their oral health as the mouth can become dryer and the gums inflame slightly. Equally people that suffer from asthma often breathe through their mouths more when asleep which can cause dry mouth.
It is important to brush your teeth at least twice each day and after every meal is the ideal. You should also floss at least twice each day to make sure food is not allowed to get trapped in between teeth. Plaque develops on your teeth every day and taking these measures ensure that it is removed and that acid isn't allowed to build on the teeth, causing decay. For this reason it is also important to limit the amount of sugars in your diet as these cause increased susceptibility to plaque.
Smoking is a bit oral no-no as well as being generally bad for your health and leads to oral cancer, peritonitis and tooth decay to name a few. It will also stain your teeth. For help giving up smoking contact your GP.