Dental Hygiene What You Need to Know About Taking Care of Your Teeth

The Importance of a Clean Mouth  Keeping your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy clean and healthy can prevent disease, sickness, pain, and infections.  Our teeth need to be cleaned everyday to prevent bacteria from growing in our mouth.  Bacteria that grow on teeth is called PLAQUE.

TIPS For Clean Teeth!  Brush your teeth TWICE a day for at least 2 minutes!  Use a toothbrush with SOFT bristles.  Use fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash. NEVER swallow toothpaste or mouthwash.  When you brush, make sure you brush all parts of your teeth and don’t forget your tongue too!  Floss ONCE a day.

MORE Tips!  Rinse off your toothbrush after you brush.  Keep your toothbrush in a clean, dry place. Not on the bathroom counter.  Replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months.  Wash your hands before you use your toothbrush.

Different Parts of Your Teeth  Crown – the part of the tooth we can see in our mouth.  Root – “planted” into the jawbone to keep the tooth in place  3 layers of teeth:  Enamel – hard, protective outer layer of the tooth.  Dentine – second protective layer covering the nerve of the tooth.  Pulp – (nerve) soft middle of the tooth that has a blood supply.

What Do Our Teeth Do?!  We use our teeth to bite, chew, and break down food.  Our teeth also help us to form words so we can speak.  There are 3 different types of teeth in our mouths:  Incisors – cutting  Canines – tearing  Molars and Pre-Molars – grind up food so it is small enough to swallow.

A Trip To The Dentist  You should visit your dentist every 6 months for a cleaning. (That’s twice a year!)  Make sure you tell your dentist if you feel any pain or sensitivity in your mouth. This is important!  The dental hygienist is the man/woman who cleans your teeth and takes x- rays.

What Happens If We Don’t Take Care of Our Teeth…  Teeth can DECAY if they are not cleaned properly.  When this happens, teeth start to rot, they turn brown, the root or nerve dies, and parts of the teeth start to chip or fall out.

Did You Know?  If you clean your teeth everyday and take care of them you can keep them forever!  Teeth are the hardest part of your body.  Fluoride was introduced in toothpaste in the 1970s.  In 1770, the first toothbrush was invented and so were the first false teeth, made out of porcelain, by William Addis in England.