Worst Habits for Your Dental Health

Learn about the worst and most common habit while brushing your teeth

 

While most rinse their mouth to get rid of traces of toothpaste, the latter contains fluoride and other ingredients intended to strengthen tooth enamel. It may need to stay some time on the surface of the teeth in order to complete its task.

 

Do not rush to rinse your mouth

Washington – Most of us rinse our teeth immediately after brushing them to remove traces of toothpaste, which is precisely what dental professionals consider a big mistake.

Toothpaste works to protect your teeth from cavities, because it contains fluoride, which helps prevent tooth decay, and restore minerals that the tooth may lose as a result of the acids produced by the bacteria that cause decay.

And toothpastes that contain fluoride and other ingredients meant to strengthen the enamel of your teeth may need to stay some time on the surface of your teeth in order to get the full benefit.

Fluoride helps your teeth most when it is applied directly to the teeth, and fluoride that stays on your teeth for several minutes longer provides more benefit.

So when you rinse your teeth with water immediately after brushing, you reduce the beneficial effect of fluoride.

Some experts, including Oral Health UK, recommend spitting out any excess toothpaste or saliva after brushing rather than rinsing with water.

And it is advisable to leave the paste on your teeth, and try to avoid eating or drinking for 10 minutes or more after you finish brushing your teeth, and this is for adults.

This habit may be difficult to change, but it can reduce tooth decay by up to 25 percent.

10 minutes or more after you finish brushing

As for children, it is recommended to put a swab of toothpaste for those younger than 3 years, and a pea-sized amount of paste for children between the ages of 3 and 6, then brush the teeth, then spit out the paste and then rinse the mouth with water, in order to reduce the risk of “fluorosis”. Teeth, a condition that occurs if a child takes in too much fluoride.

A person produces less saliva at night than during the day, so the teeth have less protection from saliva and are more vulnerable to acid attacks at night, and therefore it is important to remove food from the teeth before going to sleep so that the bacteria in the “plaque” layer cannot multiply due to leftovers throughout the night. You should not eat or drink anything except water after brushing at night, which gives fluoride the longest chance to work.

The benefit of brushing teeth comes from the toothpaste. The main ingredient in toothpaste is fluoride, which has been shown to prevent cavities. Fluoride replaces lost minerals in teeth and makes them stronger.

For maximum benefit, use toothpaste (1350-1500 ppmF), that is the concentration of fluoride in parts per million, to prevent cavities.

The concentration of toothpaste should be checked by reading the ingredients on the back of the tube. The dentist may prescribe a high-fluoride toothpaste based on his assessment of the patient’s risk of tooth decay