Ogden Nash, an American poet had once said, ‘‘Some tortures are physical and some are mental. But, the one that is both is dental.” Those who have or had dental problems must find this quote relatable.
In order to avoid these tortures due to dental problems, one must take care of their oral health. But, how to do so?
No worries! Today, on the occasion of World Oral Health Day, Dr Subash Kumar Ghimire, an oral maxillofacial surgeon at Om Samaj Dental Hospital, recommends ways to maintain good oral health.
1. Do exercise
When you care about oral health, you will get a bonus for your overall body health as the mouth is the main gate. For this, you need to do exercise regularly. This will ease the blood flow in the body including the mouth. And, the blood carries oxygen that has the healing capacity.
2. Eat healthy
Due to the busy schedule, most of you consume junk, packaged, oily, and processed food. But, one should not consume such food to maintain good oral health. Likewise, one must avoid sugar-added products like sweets and chocolates. Also, one should not drink sugar-sweetened beverages. One should restrict themselves from consuming nicotine and tobacco products and alcohol. Further, one should drink an adequate amount of water daily.
3. Take care of psychological health
If a person is stressed or has any psychological problems, that will have an adverse impact on their oral health. For instance, teeth grinding in sleep happens when one is extremely stressed. This will lead to many oral health problems like gum infections, and oral cancer. Therefore, one should speak politely, keep their mind stress-free and always be alert and happy.
4. Do physical care of your oral health
A healthy adult should brush at least twice a day after waking up and before going to sleep. Most people have the habit of brushing after a meal. However, that is a wrong practice because saliva has antibacterial elements in it that take care of oral health. But, at night, our mouth is usually dry.
Further, in the case of infants, parents should clean the baby’s mouth with salt and water using soft cotton daily. And, for the elderly people or for the people who have weak immune systems, they should brush after every meal.
Regarding the timing and method of brushing, brushing time is generally two minutes. Likewise, one must use gel toothpaste with fluoride and a brush with supersoft bristles should be used. If a person has a gap between their teeth, it is better to use an interdental brush.
One should brush in a proper way. One should not brush aggressively in the back and forth motion. Instead, one must brush the upper teeth and lower teeth separately. For the upper teeth, one should brush in a top to bottom motion segregating the parts and each part should be brushed five times. And, for the lower teeth, one should brush the bottom teeth in the bottom to up motion. Also, the top surface and the edges of the teeth should be brushed gently.
Similarly, flossing is extremely important for healthy teeth and gum. However, this is avoided by most of the Nepalis. While brushing, one has to floss their teeth using dental floss twice a day. Flossing is especially necessary for people who do not have gaps in their teeth. If one uses an interdental brush, flossing is not required.
Further, one should massage their teeth and gum gently using their hands daily. Also, one must go for dental check-ups regularly.
