Five ways to keep your teeth healthy that doesn’t include brushing

We all know that brushing your teeth every morning and every night is a good way to keep your teeth healthy. We also know that going to the dentist regularly will keep your teeth healthy too. But what else can you do?

There are lots of other ways to keep your teeth healthy that don’t involve the obvious or the dreaded. Here are five.

1. Floss

One thing we always advise people to do is floss their teeth. It doesn’t only keep your teeth healthy…it keeps you healthy as a healthy mouth prevents more serious diseases not associated with the mouth.

Flossing and brushing is more effective than brushing alone, flossing protects your gums and flossing prevents tartar build up. If you’re not flossing, start.

2. Rinse your mouth with mouthwash

While rinsing your mouth out with mouthwash plays a smaller role in keeping your teeth healthy in comparison to brushing and flossing, it’s still an important factor. It reaches places your toothbrush might not be able to and it helps keep your breath fresh.

3. Use interdental brushes

Interdental brushes are small brushes that have a very similar function to when you floss in that they get in to those hard to reach bits in between your teeth. The difference with these brushes is that they brush those bits at the bottom of your teeth in the process.

The best known brand out there is ‘Tepee’, so much so that they’re usually referred to as ‘Tepee brushes’ (just like vacuum cleaners are called ‘Hoovers’), so if you’re asking for them in your pharmacy they’ll know what you’re looking for.

4. Eat the right foods

Your diet plays a huge part in keeping your teeth healthy. Foods you should eat include dairy products because of the calcium, nuts thanks to the vitamins and minerals, water as it’s the main component of saliva and fruit and vegetables as they’re high in fibre.

5. And avoid the bad ones

Just as there are foods to eat as much as possible of, there are foods you should avoid too. First and foremost, avoid anything with sugar as sugar is extremely bad for your teeth. Blueberries are another food to avoid. While they’re high in antioxidants, they can stain your teeth, as can coffee.