New Healthy You? Watch Out For Those Teeth!
Ensuring Your Teeth Don’t Suffer From Your New Healthy Habits
If you have already started some healthy habits for new year, congratulations from all of us at Abbey Road Dental and what a great start to 2017. Healthy habits are a great focus for the start of the year, and ones that if we really try hard, we can end the year with as well.
Common goals are healthy eating, exercise, going travelling, quitting smoking, and cutting down on certain food and drink. Whatever your new healthy habit is, it may be that you haven’t necessarily thought about how it could impact other areas of your body, like your oral health. Most healthy habits mean all round improved health for the body, but there are certain habits that require a little more thought in terms of oral health, to ensure your smile gets all the benefits of your new life as well.
Smoking
Quitting smoking means so many great things for your health – increased blood flow to the gums and oral tissues, no more nicotine stains for the teeth, a reduced risk of oral cancer, and many, many more benefits. There is no downside, but it is important to adjust your dental health regime accordingly. For example: your dentist may have you on a special toothpaste or mouthwash due to smoking habits, or conditions relating to smoking.
You may have to use a more firm brush because of smoking. You may use a specially formulated toothpaste from the supermarket, targeting smokers. When you quit smoking for good, your oral health regime will need some minor adjustments, so please speak to us here at Abbey Road Dental when you do quit, so we can ensure your teeth and gums get the right dental care for your new healthy lifestyle.
Sports
Exercise is a popular new year’s resolution, hence all the fitness DVDs and fitness products that seem to be everywhere straight after Christmas. Maybe instead of running or going to the gym, you have chosen to take up a sport to get exercise. This is great for your body, but we would recommend you consider getting a personalised mouthguard for certain sports like rugby or football. This can help you avoid oral injuries that can be very painful to treat. Of course, here at our NW8 clinic we offer rapid emergency dental care, but we would rather help you avoid the need for it in the first place. A personalised mouthguard is a really good way to protect your mouth so you can enjoy exercise without worrying about a painful accident.
Juicing
Although freshly made juices are thought to be great for the body, they can be bad for the teeth, particularly the ones made from fruit. The high acid and sugar content can attack teeth, and possibly cause discolouration and enamel damage over time. To counteract the negative effects of juices:
● Drink them through a straw
● Follow them with drinking water
● Where possible stick to vegetable based juices
● Visit our NW8 clinic regularly so we can check for any signs of damage
Please Speak To Abbey Dental About Your New Year Health Habits
Whether you want to know how to adapt your oral health regime to a non-smoking lifestyle, how much a mouth-guard will cost, or when you can next come in for a checkup, we are here to help. Please call us on 02076241603 and we will be more than happy to help you.