Tips to Creating a Healthier Smile

Dr. John Cloud and our Cloud & Hill Dental Care team in Little Rock, Arkansas, are happy help you with all of your oral care needs. You work hard every day to maintain a healthy smile, but there are some tips to help you boost your smile. Even if you brush and floss daily, being mindful of these healthy smile tips can boost your oral health and help your smile shine even brighter.

Saliva Production

The first line of defense in your mouth is your saliva, as it acts like a disinfecting cavity fighter. Plaque–the bacteria that sticks to the teeth and releases acid that wears down tooth enamel–is responsible for causing tooth decay. Saliva helps rinse away bacteria and neutralizes the acid. If you have dry mouth, whether from illness, medication, or unhealthy habits, you need to increase your saliva for a healthy smile. To help stimulate sufficient saliva production, drink plenty of water, chew sugar-free gum or mints, and snack on crisp vegetables. Our dentist may also prescribe artificial saliva if necessary.

Healthy Eating Strategy

Eating sugar or having a soda with a meal is one thing, but snacking or drinking sugary items all day is destructive. The more often you consume sugar (feeding the bacteria in plaque) the more acids coat your tooth enamel for longer periods. It is better to have a slice of cheesecake with a meal rather than snack on chips or chocolate throughout the day.

It takes about 20 minutes to clear sugar from your mouth before it is neutralized. During that 20-minute time period, the bacteria convert the sugar to acid where they are busy attacking your teeth and demineralizing the enamel. Snacking all day keeps this process going on long enough to result in tooth decay, over time. As teeth continue to soften the end result can be root canals and extracted teeth. This is why you want to brush and floss the bacteria away daily.

Daily brushing and flossing along with regular professional dental cleanings are the best long-term cavity and gum disease fighting strategies. Combined with healthy saliva production and strategic eating, you can boost your oral health with a smile.

To schedule your next dental cleaning, please call 501-868-3800 to get on the calendar. Dr. John Cloud and our Cloud & Hill Dental Care team in Little Rock, Arkansas, wish you and yours a healthy Thanksgiving!