5 Things You May Not Know About Looking After Your Teeth

1. Don’t rinse your mouth after brushing

All the goodness in the toothpaste is just washed away! Once you have finished brushing,
just spit the paste and rinse your brush, leave a coating of paste on your teeth and it will
protect them for longer. The taste of the toothpaste will quickly fade away.

2. All fizzy drinks can damage your teeth

It’s not just sweet fizzy drinks that damage teeth, even fizzy water can! Fizz softens a tooth’s
enamel and can cause acid erosion. If you are going to drink something fizzy then do it through
a straw as this will reduce the amount of time that the acid is in contact with your teeth.

3. Fruit juice and smoothies are not as healthy as you think

When it comes to sugar your teeth don’t care whether it’s natural or processed, it’s sweet all
the same. Avoid fruit juice as its’ very acidic and full of sugar. Smoothies are packed with
sugar that is released when the fruit is pulped. Therefore it is much better to eat the whole fruit instead,
that way you get the benefit of the fibre and reduce the sugar intake.

4. Chocolate is better for your teeth than raisins

Raisins are packed with sugar and are very sticky too; so they get stuck in your teeth longer
when you eat them. Chocolate dissolves quicker in the mouth and tends not to stick in the
teeth. It is better to eat the sweet stuff all in one go rather graze over a period as this will
cause less damage.

5. Night time brushing is the most important

When we sleep our saliva production drops. Saliva is very important in protecting our teeth
so if there is any food left in our mouths over night this will cause more damage. So remember,
do not forget the night time brushing however tired you are.

Looking after Your Teeth with Andrew House

At Andrew House Dental Practice we have a wealth of knowledge and our professionals will
be happy to give you individual advice on looking after your teeth so you can keep them for
life. We have a dedicated hygienist that will give you the latest advice on diet, brushing and
gum care- give us a call or visit our website. We look forward to seeing you.