Here's How Your Toothbrush Affects Your Immunity

As maintaining personal hygiene becomes the need of the hour, here's a handy guide to make sure you are not overlooking your oral health. 

Especially when you are looking to boost your immunity.

"In the pursuit of keeping infections at bay, we often tend to stay focussed on cleaning and sanitizing our body but almost neglect our oral health. Our oral health is closely intertwined with our overall health and your mouth has a great possibility to become an entry point for bacteria. Practising good dental care will not only facilitate in keeping our pearly whites in the best of health but will also help in boosting your immunity in mitigating the spread of harmful diseases such as heart ailments, diabetes or cancer," says Dr Karishma Jaradi, Head Dental Surgeon at Dentzz Dental.

So, here are her tips to amp up your dental routine:

Improving brushing techniques

"One major tip to enhance oral hygiene is to improve your brushing techniques. A consistent and correct tooth brushing routine is mandatory and is something that one must religiously follow. Invest in the right kind of toothbrush with soft bristles that remove food particles, thus reducing the risk of gum infections. Tongue cleaning should also be a steady ritual post brushing. This will help remove the deposited bacteria and plaque formation. Bacteria gets formulated even on the toothbrush, so it’s necessary to replace the toothbrush once it gets worn out. If you are using dentures, it is a necessity to periodically clean them."

Never neglect to floss 

It is always advisable to floss after brushing since not all germs and bacteria vanish completely with brushing. Dental flossing fights the tartar built-up, thus leaving you with a cleaner mouth.

Quit smoking, tobacco and avoid binging over sweets  

"Consumptions of cigarettes and tobacco will cause your enamel to become yellow and also cause bad breath that can affect the normal functioning of gum tissues and other gum-related problems, periodontal diseases and oral infections. Alongside to improve oral hygiene, you must also avoid consumption of edibles that are high on sugar. This will definitely increase the acidic level in your mouth, thus attacking the tooth layer leading to problematic dental conditions. Stay away from soft drinks and aerated drinks as they cause great damage to the teeth due to their high acidic content."

Regular dental check-ups 

"Regular dental check-ups are very essential to maintain good dental health and to prevent tooth decay. The oral health expert will be able to detect any kind of dental issue at an early stage and advice preventive measures to avoid future problems."

Avoid over-doing dental hygiene 

"Excessive-flossing can irritate and injure your gum tissue making them sore and swollen. Aggressive tooth brushing can also aggravate your gums causing them to shrink away from your enamels, mainly if you have thin gum tissues. If you are under the impression that your teeth are in the best of health by over-treating them, you definitely need to rethink your decision because over-doing a dental treatment will do no good to your oral health."