In addition to visits to the dentist, daily hygiene plays a dominant role in reducing oral diseases. Here are some things to avoid:
Use his teeth as a bottle opener
"I've seen dental fractures because the patient used his teeth to open a bottle!" As Dr. Jacques Weimer, a dental surgeon and deputy secretary-general of the French Federation of Oral Health, asserts, our teeth are used to eat, talk and smile, so care is needed. Remember: Do not cut anything with the teeth at risk of damaging them.
Put a hole in the mouth ...
"There are more and more people wearing a hole on the tongue or on the lips, but this can have an effect on oral health," Dr. Weimer says. The first risk is oral infections, but not so. There are also tooth fractures, gum gums or dental movements. "By playing with his hole placed on the tongue, the space between the two central teeth can be created."
Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the specialist recommends that the professional who puts the hole is qualified and that it works under good conditions (disposable materials), but also that the material is sufficient (plastic rather than metal). Finally, you have a hole regularly checked by your dentist.
Drink in a neighbor's cup
This is not necessarily obvious, but caries is contagious. So, by drinking in someone else's glass or sharing a tableware or toothbrush for example, this enhances the passage of bacteria from one mouth to another. This is also true between parents and children: taste the dishes before giving them with one spoon, and put the sucker in the mouth to "clean" ... These habits can lead to "rare" contamination between parents and children.
Smoking or drinking or both
Addiction has effects on oral health. But talking about alcohol or tobacco in a dentist's surgery is not easy for the patient or his doctor. However, "it has a role to play, especially as it can describe alternatives to nicotine," says Dr. Jack Weimer.
Nibble between meals
You can clean your teeth every morning after breakfast, but once you arrive at the office, you take 1,2,3 coffee ... sweet (s)? Wrong reaction! The worse thing is with soft drinks, which in addition to being loaded with sugars, are acidic, which promotes tooth erosion and hence the appearance of caries. Remember: In the case of small thirst during the day or break, always prefer water and reduce sugar in the coffee.
Clean your teeth ... less than two minutes
10% of French say they do not brush their teeth every day, 25% do it once only, 50% do it twice, and only 15% do it three times a day. It is now recommended to clean twice a day, this is enough, notes Dr. Weimer. But if you respect the time brushing (2 minutes). French spend an average of 56 seconds ... In addition, the toothbrush must be changed regularly, 4 times a year. The electric toothbrush? It is useful if you do not pro-tooth brush, especially to reach the bottom teeth to eliminate the plate and thus prevent gum disease.
Also ... Thumb sucking (or nipple) after 6 years
It is not a matter of preventing infants from sucking the thumb or preventing them from nipple because, according to Dr. Jack Weimer, sucking reflex is necessary for the child. In addition, the thumb or lollipop can play the role of transitional organism ... "As a health professional, I recommend the nipple because of its physiological shape that better accompanies development, but I do not have a miracle recipe to make a stop," he admits. One thing is for sure, you have to stop ideally between 2 and 3 years. After 6 years, it is according to his "disaster" because it coincides with the arrival of the final teeth. Try to gradually get used to it unless you take it, for example just during a nap and at night, then just at night and then at all. The child generally leaves himself, often when he enters the pre-school.
