Oral Care Handbook

Introduction
In this book, you'll learn the basics and
step-by-step guide on boosting your oral
health.

1. Chapter 1 - Daily Oral Hygiene

Routine

2. Chapter 2 - Oral Healthy Diet

3. Chapter 3 - Professional Care at the

Dentist

4. Chapter 4 - Resources to learn about

oral care

5. Chapter 5 - Caring for the toddlers

and elderly 
Chapter 1 - Daily Oral Hygiene
Routine

Daily oral hygiene routine generally consist of 5 steps.

Some people find it confusing, but it doesn’t have to be.

Simply follow these steps in order and you’ll never go wrong in
maintaining a healthy smile.

1) Toothbrushing

First thing in the morning, do this.

“Brush your teeth twice per day”. That's the advice given by our mothers
and dentist, right?

Many people don't do it, either due to lack of time or motivation.

Still, if you'd like your teeth to last a lifetime and unnecessary dental
visits due to signs and symptoms of your teeth, do it anyway.

There has been some research that proves electric toothbrushes

remove significantly more plaque compared to manual counterparts and
are better at preventing gum disease. Despite all the reviews that have
been done, your oral health will remain healthy as long as you
persistently take care of your teeth. If you are still considering of buying
a powered toothbrush, do talk to your dentist the next time you come in
for your dental treatment.
If your looking for an electric toothbrush then i highly suggest you visit the website below.
It will give you all the necessary information to make an informed decision:
www.bestoralbelectrictoothbrush.com
2) Flossing

After toothbrushing, do you floss? Hopefully you do, as many food

debris are still stucked in between the teeth and under the gums.

Some people don't believe in the notion of flossing. They think flossing
damages teeth. This is a huge misconception.

If you bleed when you floss, that's because your gums are unhealthy.
Perhaps gingivitis or even worse, periodontitis.

Today, the vast majority of people are flossing with the wrong technique
and hence are not achieving the maximum results. Here we will look at
the method that works best.  

First and foremost, position the floss on the fingertips as much as

possible, with enough floss between the two fingers to "saw" it back
and forth roughly about 5-6mm (1/4").  Usually, we would wrap the ends
of the floss around your index and middle fingers. Do not exert much
pressure downwards, instead, focus on the "sawing motion."  Hold the
floss tightly around each tooth in a C shape; move the floss in a push-
pull motion and up and down while at the same time applying pressure
to the side of each tooth. This action will flatten and thin the floss so
that it slides down between the teeth smoothly. Following that, rub the
floss against both surfaces a few times and with the same sawing
motion to remove the floss. 

This leads us to the next step, which is mouthwash

3) Mouthwash

Now, before you head out of the house to work, do a simple mouthwash
with fluoridated mouthrinse. It’ll make your day better by freshening up
your breath.

Mouthwash is a fluid that can be swished around in the oral cavity to

boost the health of the gingiva, teeth, and tongue. Mouthwash can do
more than just freshen your breath; it can help fight plaque and
gingivitis, prevent cavities, tartar, and periodontal disease, treat
halitosis, soothe minor irritations in the mouth, and even whiten your
teeth. With continued use, it can also help fight oral cancer and leave
you with a healthier mouth.

You see, your dentist has been right all along; you do need mouthwash
for a fresher mouth. Regardless of what your dental concerns may be,
mouthrinse is recommended for most adults and children older than 6
years old. Do this before you go to sleep.

If you wish to reduce time in the dentist’s chair, then you’ll want a good
mouthwash on your side. Search and survey for the right brand of
mouthwashes to use twice daily, along with your regular brushing and
flossing routine. There are many variations of mouthwashes out there.
With or without alcohol, various flavors, etc. However, if you have dry
mouth, go for the alcohol-free ones.
4) Rinsing after meals

After your lunch or dinner, it is advisable to rinse your mouth.

Instead of brushing, patients should rinse with water or an antibacterial

mouthwash immediately after eating to remove loose food particles,
and then engage in tooth cleaning one half-hour later. If water or
mouthwash is not available, another option is to chew sugarless gum.

This simple technique is useful and so easy to turn into a habit. Rinsing
after meals remove the debris and acids that are stuck in your teeth.
This is mainly when you just consume a buffet or had a glass of soda.
Everyone can do it, and it is recommended by dental professionals
worldwide.

5) Chewing gum

What happens if it’s inconvenience to rinse your mouth? Well, you could
chew a sugarless gum.

Do you know that dry mouth (halitosis) and bad breath are often caused
by a reduced saliva flow? When you chew sugar-free gum, your mouth
makes more saliva, and the symptoms of dry mouth and bad breath
may be eliminated.

This substance - Xylitol helps to prevent plaque bacteria sticking to the

teeth. Xylitol can help significantly reduce tooth decay and even help
reverse the decay itself by helping to replace the minerals in tooth
enamel.  So have some chewing gums ready in your pocket for after
meal use, which will come handy when you have a busy day.
Chapter 2 - Oral Healthy Diet

Our bodies are sophisticated machines. Therefore how we eat will

indirectly or directly affect the condition of our dentition.

The foods we choose and how often we eat them can affect our general
health and the health of our teeth and gingiva, too.

Say, if you consume too many sugar-filled sodas, sweetened fruit drinks
or non-nutritious snacks, you could be putting your oral cavity at risk for
tooth decay. Dental decay is the single most common chronic childhood
disease, but the positive news is that it is preventable.

Tooth decay happens when plaque come into contact with sugar in the
mouth, causing acid to attack the teeth.

Foods that contain sugars of any form can lead to tooth decay. To
control the number of carbohydrates and simple sugars you eat, read
the nutrition facts and ingredient labels on foods and drinks and choose
options that are pretty low in sugar. Conventional sources of sugar in
the diet, for example, soft drinks, sweets, cookies, and pastries.

Your physician or perhaps a registered dietitian can also give some

sound recommendations for eating nutritious food. If your diet lacks
specific nutrients, it may be more difficult for tissues in your mouth to
resist infection. This may contribute to gum disease. Severe gum
disease is a significant cause of tooth loss in adults. Many researchers
believe that the disease progresses faster and is potentially more
severe in people with weak nutrition.

It's imperative to drink plenty of water. Consume a wide range of foods

from each of the 5 major food groups, including whole grains, fruits,
vegetables and lean sources of protein such as lean beef, skinless
poultry and fish; dry beans, peas and other legumes low-fat and fat-free
dairy foods.

Limit the number of snacks you eat. If you do lunch, choose something
that is healthy for fruit or vegetables or a piece of cheese. Foods that
are consumed as part of a meal cause less harm to teeth than eating
lots of snacks throughout the week, because more saliva is released

during a meal. We know now that saliva helps wash foods from the
mouth and lessens the effects of acids, which can harm teeth and
cause cavities.

Proper nutrition means consuming a well-balanced diet so that your

body can get the nutrients needed for good health and wellness. If your
daily diet is low in the nutrients your physical needs, your mouth may
have a more difficult time resisting infection. This may contribute to
periodontal disease, a significant cause of tooth loss in adults.

Although poor nutrition does not cause periodontal disease directly,

there are increasingly more researchers believe that the disease
progresses more rapidly and can be more severe in people with
nutrient-poor diets.

Surprising or not, the difference between a healthy oral cavity and

frequent visits to the dental practitioner might be your diet. Although
you have a perfect oral hygiene regime, it might be hard to maintain
your teeth healthy, if you don’t pay attention to what you consume day
to day.

Too often, we see food as being only the villain when it comes to dental
health. After all, it’s sugars and acids from food and drinks that do most
of the harm to our teeth. However, there are many types of food that not
only don’t harm your teeth as much but can even give a big
improvement to your oral health.
From preventing cavities and gum disease to even freshening your
breath and bleaching your teeth, the foods on this list can match the
claims of the fanciest toothpaste and mouthwashes on the market.
Most of them are pretty delicious as well, so take out your shopping list
and get ready to add some teeth-friendly goodies.
Chapter 3 - Professional Care at
the Dentist

Let me ask you a question. Ever wondered why the American Dental
Association (ADA) and your dental practitioner recommend you come
back every six months? It’s because regular dental visits are crucial for
the maintenance of healthy teeth and gums.

And in between those examinations, it’s vital that you work to keep your
teeth and gingiva clean and healthy. If you need more reinforcement,
your neighborhood dentist may even recommend more frequent visits.

Checking your teeth for tooth decay is just one part of a thorough
dental examination. During your check-up appointment, your dentist (or
dental hygienist) will likely evaluate the health of your gums, perform a
detailed head and neck test and examine your mouth for any indications
of oral cancer, diabetes or vitamin deficiencies.

Don’t be taken aback if your dentist also scans your face, occlusion,
saliva, and movement of your lower jaw joints (TMJs).

Your dentist or dental hygienist will then make your teeth pristine and
stress the usefulness of you was maintaining good oral hygiene at home
between visits.

Many dentists will pay particular attention to plaque and tartar. This is
because plaque and calculus can build up in a brief time if good oral
hygiene is not practiced between dental visits. Do you know that
specific food, beverages, and tobacco can stain teeth as well? If not
removed, soft plaque can harden on the teeth and irritate the gum

tissue. If treatment is not done, plaque can lead to gum disease.

During your annual scheduled dental appointments, your dentist will

likely look at your gums, mouth, tongue, and throat. There are several
routine parts to a dental examination.

There are a couple of things to look out for regarding dental health.

Examining the gums

Looking for signs of gum disease
Checking for loose teeth
Looking at the tissues inside of your mouth
Reviewing your tongue
Checking your occlusion
Looking for visual evidence of tooth decay
Checking for fractured teeth
Testing for damaged restorations
Looking for changes in the gums covering teeth
Evaluating any dental prosthesis you have
Inspecting the contact between your teeth
Taking X-rays

Once your dental cleaning has been done, they’ll tell you about the
health of your dentition and gums and then make any other
recommendations. It’s crucial that you see your dentist every half a year
and that they give you regular examination.

Remember, by seeing your dentist on a consistent basis, and following

daily optimal oral hygiene practices at your home, you are more likely to
keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Even with the most diligent daily brushers and flossers, there are still
small areas in the mouth that are missed by a regular toothbrushing and
flossing.

You see, when dental biofilm or plaque builds up, it becomes more
difficult to eliminate, solidifying and turning into tartar, which is difficult
to get rid of without professional help.

There are several harmful lifestyle habits that can have a negative

impact on your oral health. For example, chewing ice, fingernails biting,
clenching your jaw, grinding your teeth, eating particularly sticky or
hard sweets, brushing your teeth too vigorous, drinking black coffee
and red wine, and not to mention, smoking.

When you go for regular dental visits, your dentist can check for any
oral damage caused by habits which you may otherwise not have
noticed. Being informed about specific destructive patterns allows you
to change or alter your lifestyle choice to prevent further damage.
Visiting the dentist will enable you to fix the damage that has already
been done, and help your oral health be the best it can be.

Another reason for professional care at the dentist is to rule out oral
cancer.

In addition to checking your oral cavity, gingiva, and tongue for signs or
oral malignancy, your dentist will also examine your neck, jaw, and
lymph nodes, located just below your jawline, for any swelling, lumps, or
other abnormalities. If a defect is found it could be a sign of a
significant health problem, and your dentist will alert you to it and make
a referral to the appropriate medical professional help.

Please note that swollen lymph nodes are a particular area that does
not necessarily hurt or seem out of the ordinary but when appropriately
identified by a professional could be a sign of certain kinds of
malignancy or other diseases that require immediate attention and care.
Skipping your regular dental checkups drastically cuts down how often
your neck and thyroid glands are checked. So while looking for
abnormalities only takes your dentist a minute, it could mean a severe
disease is identified early enough to make a significant difference.
Chapter 4 - Resources to learn
about oral care

Oral care doesn't stop with just brushing and flossing. Going to your
dentist clinic to learn some advanced oral care techniques are also
valuable. However, for those who do not have time to do so, you can do
it digitally.

Today as we consume massive amounts of content, you can also

perfect and try out new oral care tactics using favorite sites such as
Youtube and Google.

Maintaining good oral hygiene is undoubtedly one of the most

important things you can do for your teeth and gums. Healthy and clean
teeth not only enable you to look and feel tremendous, but they also
make it feasible to eat and speak properly. Clean oral health is essential
to your overall well-being.

Daily preventive care, including proper toothbrushing and flossing, will

help halt problems before they develop and is much less painful,
expensive, and worrisome than attending to conditions that have been
allowed to progress. Your dental practitioner will recommend how often
to have routine checkups. The majority of people should see their
dentists once or twice a year. Your dentist will thoroughly investigate
your teeth and gingiva for signs of dental decay, gingivitis, and other
health problems.

If you aren’t already using YouTube to expand your mind and learn new
skills, it’s time for you to catch up. There’s so much proficiency available
out there about dental health. Why not take advantage of it?

Want to learn a musical instrument? How about learning how to draw?

For the handyman, there are tutorials on DIY basics, and for the health
conscious ones, there is personal oral care. If you feel like building your
skillsets and know-how, YouTube and Vimeo will always have some fresh
starter videos. You see, as we as the society grown to be more health
conscious, there are increasingly more tools and resources to be
leveraged to boost your dental hygiene so that your dentition last a
lifetime!

We know that YouTube is massive. There are billions of videos to sift

through, making it unaccommodating to isolate the quality videos from
the mediocre ones. We only have 24 hours in the day — who wants to
spend hours browsing through dirt for the occasional gem?

Some of our suggestions can get you started well. Check out some of
the best general education channels, science channels, sex education
channels, and a few finance channels. That’s just scratching the
surface.

One trick to learn better is to develop playlists that explore a specific

topic. YouTube gives you the ability to create playlists that are fully
customizable sorted according to your preference. This makes it an
ideal tool for all content creators, given that eLearning professionals
can create playlists that complement guides and classes, without
having to provide individual links for each video.

Some dental educational sites create webinars that learners can use as
reference tools. YouTube gives eLearning professionals the power to
create videos and audios that learners can access even after the
eLearning course has ended. These videos, either these are webinars or
presentations, can serve as invaluable reference resources for learners
who wish to refresh their memory about a particular module or review
the content before an exam.

Besides that, you can check out dental podcasts that are increasingly
becoming a big thing as an educational resource for both dental
professionals and layman alike.

For example, on Google, with a simple search, you'll learn that Dry
mouth: Saliva goes a long way to your dental health – and your breath. It
rinses and removes unwanted leftovers from your mouth, helps break
down food when you eat and provides disease-fighting substances to
help prevent cavities and infections. Although you don’t make enough
oral saliva, one sign may be halitosis. Dry mouth can be triggered by
medications, certain medical conditions, alcohol use, tobacco use or
excessive caffeine.

In conclusion, do not stop discovering ways to improve your dental

care. Keep your knowledge afresh even if you're not a dentist or dental
hygienist and your teeth will thank you in the future.

Here is an upcoming Youtube channel which focuses on natural ways to strengthen teeth
and enamel:

TeethMastery101
Chapter 5 - Caring for the toddlers
and elderly 

Though the majority of babies don't start getting teeth until they are six
months old, infant dental care is essential from the very beginning.
Many dentists recommend an initial visit before the child's first birthday
to make sure teeth and gums are cared for and cleaned correctly.

It is a good idea to cultivate the habit of cleaning your baby's gums

soon after birth. Though there may be minor fussing at first, your infant
will get used to having the oral cavity cleaned like other parts of the
body. Many children grow to enjoy tooth brushing as part of their day to
day routine.

Brushing is crucial from the early age. Before your baby has teeth, you
can gently and properly clean his gums. Use water on a baby
toothbrush, or wipe them with a little washcloth.

When your baby's teeth appear, brush two times daily with an infant
toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste.

Start flossing when two of his teeth touch each other. Ask your dentist
about techniques and schedules.

Brush and floss just before bedtime. After that, don't feed your child any
food or drink, except water, until the next morning.

During your infant’s first year, there are a couple of conditions to be

aware of, including:
Teething

Between 3 and nine months, your infant's baby teeth will begin to
emerge (erupt) into the mouth. Teething may make your child irritable or
fussy and may cause restlessness, drool or decline in appetite. Still, it
has not been shown to cause any other childhood symptoms.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Baby bottle tooth caries — also known as "early childhood dental

caries" — is one of the most critical issues in infant tooth care. This
condition is caused by regular exposure, over time, too sugary liquids,

which can severely damage a baby’s teeth and overall oral health.

Pacifiers

Sucking is a regular part of the development that is comforting to

children well into their first years of life. In fact, sucking often brings
comfort even after a child no longer needs to get nourishment from a
breast or bottle. During a child's first few years, sucking habits probably
won't damage his or her mouth. But frequent and long-term sucking can
cause problems. This is especially true if the pattern continues after
baby teeth begin to exfoliate.

As we all grow older, specific health issues earn our entire attention,
especially the crucial importance of dental health for seniors. We get
one set of adult teeth, so it's vital to look out for them for throughout
their lives.

According to the Washington Dental Service Foundation (WDSF), around

75 percent of adults 60 and elder only have a portion of their original
teeth. Medical or dental problems such as severe gum disease, which is
the mainstay in about 23% of elderly folks between the 65 till 77 of age,
can contribute to the demise of your natural teeth. Risks for conditions,
such as cardiac disease and diabetes, and gradually increase with poor
oral health as well.

Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is another form of dementia, where there is a loss
of brain function, which gradually gets worse over time affecting

thinking, character and memory capacity. Do you know that people

living with Alzheimer’s may forget how to brush teeth or why it is
essential, hence caretakers must be patient and help them take care of
their teeth?

Osteoporosis

We know that osteoporosis is a standard medical issue, which causes

bones in the body to become less dense and more probable to fracture.

Women who have already been through menopause are at the highest
risk of developing the disease. When the density of bone in the mouth
decreases, teeth can become loose. According to the National Institute
of Health (NIH), women with osteoporosis are three times more likely to
lose a tooth than females without osteoporosis. Many patients who
have osteoporosis are given anti-resorptive medications to prevent or
treat this condition. However, some of this medicines cause a rare but
severe disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw that can cause damage
to the jawbone.

All the information above should give you a good idea of what you are doing wrong and
what you need to incorporate into your daily routine to maximize your oral health.

However There is one product that I'm sure can help you achieve this in a matter of weeks.
It is called the: Healthy Mouth system.

It gives you all the tools you need to start making a difference to your teeth hygiene such
as :
• Pocket applicator
• Healthy mouth blend
• Tongue cleaner
• special toothbrush
• Mouth map

I dont want to go into too much detail here but if you are interested then please head on
over to the HealthyMouth System.