When you want to do everything you can to keep your family healthy, you have to take oral health into account, too. If your family frequently has to deal with cavities, gum disease, or other oral health issues, it might be time to up your game. Here's an easy, three-step way that you can improve the health of your entire family.
1. Make a Game of It
To start this out, you should propose a little game with your family. Take the adults into account, too! Suggest that your family compete to see who has the best oral health at your next dentist appointment. Everyone takes steps to do the best that they can with their oral health, like brushing their teeth, flossing every day, and using mouthwash.
To help encourage your family, consider adding small rewards when everyone has participated properly for a certain set amount of time, like every week or every month. Go out and do something fun as a group to celebrate that you're all doing your best. If done correctly, this should help your family to maintain good oral health habits throughout the year.
2. Use Plaque-Disclosing Tablets
Of course, it's not fair to simply ask everyone to brush and floss and hope for the best when they get to the dentist's office. For this step, you'll need to pick up some plaque disclosing tablets from a drugstore or grocery store.
These harmless tablets are chewed after brushing your teeth to reveal where dental plaque is still hiding. Consider using these at least once a week so that your family gets a good idea of where their hygiene is lacking and steps it up accordingly.
3. Visit the Dentist Together
Lastly, the final important step is to go to the dentist together, at the same time. This is easy enough to accomplish if you visit a family dentist's office together.
One by one, your family will get their teeth cleaned and their oral health evaluated. At the end of everyone's appointments, whoever comes out with the least number of oral health problems is deemed the winner and gets a special reward, like a meal out, a video game, or something else that your family member will enjoy. Consider adding smaller rewards for anyone who did well but wasn't the best, so that people don't get discouraged.
With this little game, you can do a great deal to boost oral health in your family. Visit clinics like Rupp and Grabowski Family Dentistry if you want additional advice on how to avoid oral health pitfalls.
Every time you take a bite of food, you should be grateful for your healthy teeth! A tooth can lose its health and structure quickly once decay sets in. Luckily, if you visit your dentist for regular appointments, the decay should not get too serious before your dentist notices it and can do something about it. That "something" is applying a filling. On the other hand, if the decay progresses too long before it is caught, you may need a crown or even an extraction.
We want to keep our teeth, and we know you want to keep yours. That's why we created this website to teach you more about dentists and dental care. Enjoy!