It seems as if there is a new holiday or national awareness for every day, week and month of the year. While some may be silly from national Donut day to the more important ones that bring awareness to serious conditions and diseases, the intention is always good. May has been designated as National Dental Care Month. Are you as excited as we are?
Here we offer some tips to help the party animal in you celebrate May – National Dental Care Month.
- Evaluate your home care hygiene routine. Proper dental care starts with YOU!! As Dentists, we are here to fix problems and help you maintain a healthy mouth and promote overall health. However, under normal circumstances we see you 2x a year for checkups and cleanings. The other 363 days are your chance to shine. Take charge of your dental health to ensure you keep your teeth, smile and ability to eat in tact for the rest of your life.
- Floss 2-3 x a day after meals.
- Follow up with Brushing 2-3x a day for 2 minutes.
- Rinse with mouthwash for that fresh and clean feel.
- Keep or schedule an appointment with your dentist for your routine care.
- If you have not had a checkup or cleaning in the last 6 months, do yourself a favor and schedule an appointment.
- We always say : Dentistry is not expensive – Neglect is.
- Regular checkups and visits allow us to assist in maintaining a healthy smile and believe it or not save you money. They give us the ability to intercept small problems and treat them in a cost effective manner before they become large, painful, costly problems.
- Hygiene appointments give us a chance to re-inforce good home care practices, lower your risk of decay and other diseases, remove stains and build up and leave your mouth fresh and clean.
- Throw out that tooth brush.
- If your tooth brush is over 3 months old – Toss it.
- If you have been sick recently – Toss it.
- Replace your tooth brush every 3 months with a soft bristle brush
- At Old Hook Dental, we will provide you with a goodie bag at cleaning appointments that has a new soft bristle brush already included – SEE, we just saved you a couple of bucks already.
- Hate flossing? You’re not alone.
- There are many choices in dental floss these days. No need to grab a piece and wrap it around your fingers until they turn blue.
- Try disposable floss picks
- Water pics are also an alternative choice for those that have difficulty with regular flossing.
- Floss before brushing to loosen food debris stuck in between teeth followed by brushing to remove it.
- Share your smile by using #NationalSmileMonth #NationalDentalCareMonth and don’t forget to tag us @OldHookDental and #OldHookDental
