Four things You You Can Do If You're Prone To Getting Cavities
It's a frustrating experience for any dental patient: despite your best efforts to regularly floss, brush, and see your dentist, you continue to get cavities. Check out a few simple lifestyle and dental care changes that you can make to prevent the occurrence of cavities.
1. Visit the Dentist More Frequently
Some individuals are prone to getting cavities due to a higher presence of bacteria in their mouths. Your mouth may have a higher or lower than average pH level that is conducive to cavity formation. Your dentist can perform a test to get more insight into the environment of your mouth and make appropriate recommendations concerning what products you should use.
Others have teeth that have slightly different grooves that offer plaque the perfect place to hide out and form cavities. Since you cannot change the grooves in your teeth, consider asking your dentist if you should be seen more frequently. Though the standard recommendation is usually every six months for a dental cleaning, your dentist may want you to come in every three or four months.
2. Swap Your Toothbrush
When used correctly, a manual toothbrush is effective at removing tarter and food particles from your teeth. Unfortunately, many patients do not brush correctly. They may miss portions of their mouth, end their brushing sessions prematurely, or use a poor technique that doesn't clean the teeth very well.
You can combat these issues by swapping your manual toothbrush for an electric toothbrush. Many electric toothbrushes come with timers that let you know when you are through brushing; some even have mini timers that let you know when you should move to a different section of your mouth.
The consistent motion of an electric toothbrush is also helpful for helping you overcome a poor brushing technique, as the physical movement of the brush sweeps food particles and plaque away.
3. Brush and Floss Your Teeth More
For some individuals, brushing and flossing two times a day is not enough to keep plaque at bay. You may want to add a third brushing and flossing session to your daily routine. After lunch is a top time to add this extra session; that way, food from your lunch does not stay on your teeth for hours at a time.
4. Stop Grazing
If you like to graze throughout the day, rather then eating defined meals and snacks, you may want to end this habit. Grazing keeps your teeth constantly bathed in food particles that contribute to the formation of plaque and cavities.