Look into the mirror, and smile! You look your best when you do that. For all that’s worth, the mirror smiles back at you, no matter what. But what about the mirror that Bryant McGill once referred to as life? Smile and it will smile back at you, remember?! Ask yourself this- if you had cavities, would you be a little self-conscious before smiling? Yes? Then chances are that your life is not smiling back at you either; perhaps, just grinning!
You may not have cavities exactly but you’ve got more germs in your mouth and teeth than you know. To those who do brush and floss twice a day, there are high chances that you might still be doing it wrong. You might still be harboring more bacteria in your mouth than what’s present on your toilet seat! We’ll come back to that but first, to those who don’t brush and floss twice a day- for the love of mother nature, please do unless you want an advanced civilization of bacteria thriving in your warm and cozy mouth!
Coming back to brushing your teeth, it’s not as simple as you think it is. It’s not all rubbing the toothbrush against the surface of your teeth. There are certain angles you need to follow to get rid of the bacteria. Mouth Healthy advises:
“Place your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gums. Gently move the brush back and forth in short (tooth-wide) strokes. Brush the outer surfaces, the inner surfaces, and the chewing surfaces of the teeth. To clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth, tilt the brush vertically and make several up-and-down strokes.”
What did you have for lunch, by the way? Something oily, starchy, acidic? If yes, you’re another step closer to cavities and enamel erosion. By the time they turn 65, 96% of Americans have tooth decay. The major contributors have been already listed- oily, starchy and acidic food.
Visit a dentist even if nothing looks that wrong. You’d never know what’s going on in your mouth and under the gums. Read more on why Looks Could Be Deceiving. A dentist hand you a list of all that’s wrong with your oral health if you haven’t visited a dentist in a while.
Perhaps you may consider keeping your toothbrush away from the toilet? “Oh, I keep it covered anyway!” Oh, you’re just as behind anyway! Keeping your toothbrush covered makes for a warm environment with moisture around it, creating a dreamland for bacterial growth.
There are much more than these to explain why your life may not smile back at you! Because your life of all people knows what you’ve done to the teeth and now it’s just too self-conscious! Consider visiting a dentist, maybe?
Make visiting the dentist a regular habit. Preventive care in oral health is essential because just like cancer, oral health is very hard to predict in terms of condition. You may have an underlying oral disease right now and never know about it. Do you know that people who have to get root canals didn’t get the symptoms until the very last week? Look after your oral health as much as you do for your general health, and that mirror might just start smiling back again!
