General Health

Oral health doesn't just concern a cavity, wisdom tooth eruption or braces. Oral health is much more than that-it also refers to the condition of your:

• Upper and lower jaw
• Gums and supporting tissues
• Roof of your mouth
• All linings of your mouth and throat
• Tongue
• Lips
• Salivary Galnds

To maintain good oral health, it's a good idea to brush up on the basics of oral care.

Establish an effective home-care regimen.

Brushing
It is not how hard you brush, but how you brush!

As bacteria live on all surfaces of your mouth, be sure to brush your teeth, tongue, cheeks and the roof of your mouth as often as your dentist recomments. Most people brush at least twice a day.

Hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your gums and use short back-and-forth motions- Hold the brush vertically to reach the backs of uppoer and lower front teeth. Use a back-and-forth motion to clean the crevices on the chewing surfaces of your teeth.

Flossing
Keep forgetting to floss? You are missing 35% of each tooth's surface!

Bacteria can hide in the crevices between teeth that your toothbrush can't reach, and this can cause tooth decay, bad breath and gum disease. To help, clean between your teeth with dental floss or an interdental cleaner once a day, and don't forget to rinse your mouth after you floss-antibacterial mouthwashes may help.

Visit your dentist regularly.

You also need professional care to maintain your oral health. No matter how well you brush and floss, there may still be plaque hiding in places that you can't see or reach. This plaque will harden into calculus, and the only way to have it removed is by a dental cleaning.

Also, there are many dental problems that are easy to treat when caught early, which can help prevent further damage, costly repairs and discomfort for you.

Eat foods that are good for your mouth.

Certain foods can help and hurt your teeth, so it's important to make choices that will help your mouth. The acids in soft drinks coat your teeth's outer covering -  the enamel - and can wear it away. Drink a soft drink in one sitting and rinse with water afterward to prevent it from breaking down the enamel.

Also, stay away from sticky foods like caramels, even potato chips, which fill in every nook and cranny in your teeth and are hard to remove.

Instead, choose foods that help your teeth, like aged cheese, water, fruits and vegetables.