Mid-Covid19 Times

As everyone walks around the world during this pandemic with their different styles of masks donning their faces, I am slightly sad that we can’t see each others smiles. But I know that everyone is doing their part in keeping each other safe. Still, one can reminisce the good ol’ days when we smiled brightly, shook hands and/or hugged each other to say “hello”.

MASKS. Masks are a physical barrier we wear on our faces to protect others from us, in case we are carriers of COVID19 and we don’t know it. We are wearing it all the time now in public, that means we are also having the chance to constantly assess our breath. If it smells normal and fine to you, that’s AWESOME. If you have noticed that things smell a little weird, you might want to schedule a dental appointment for a checkup and a cleaning. In the meantime, if you’re not ready for a dental visit yet due to social distancing, here are some tidbits to remind you of some best practices for home care:

MOUTH HYGIENE.

1. Brush your teeth every morning when you wake up.

2. Brush your teeth after every MEAL or snack. You can wait 30 minutes before brushing to allow your SALIVA to bring the pH level back to normal. Sometimes if you’re eating very sour fruits or foods, you don’t want to immediately start physically scrubbing your teeth since it could be more abrasive, or damaging.

3. Floss, Brush, Rinse. Or Rinse, floss, brush. Keep it clean everyone! If you are using a prescription fluoride toothpaste but also love your mouth rinse, I recommend rinsing before brushing, since you have to leave the toothpaste on your teeth for 30 minutes without rinsing. 

4. Make sure you’re flossing ALL of your teeth every night to remove the food particles that your toothbrush cannot reach between your teeth and behind the back teeth. Brush your teeth for 2 minutes. 

5. BONUS points for using an electric toothbrush. I always say using an electric toothbrush is a lazy person’s way of brushing. I’ll admit it, I’m LAZY. In truth, I want to be highly efficient, that’s why I use an electric toothbrush. It can get my teeth squeaky clean faster than I can with a manual toothbrush. I like to guide my Philips Sonicare toothbrush and let it do all the brushing. I brush the cheek side of my teeth, the chewing tops, and then the inside. I get every corner of my smile because I want to keep my teeth for a long, long, long time. Did I mention I want to keep my teeth? That’s also why #6 is important:

6. Flossing is fitness for the gums. By flossing we are exercising our gums and making them stronger. Strong gums = strong teeth and fresh breath. No special brand is needed. Pick up a REACH floss, or a Oral-B glide floss, or order that special Cocofloss. If you like floss picks, that’s alright, just make an effort to hug each tooth before you bring the floss back up. 

7. Extra bonus: TONGUE SCRAPERS for fresher breath. I love my tongue scraper. It removes the white stuff from my tongue and makes me feel super clean. I gently scrape my tongue and see the film come off smoothly, like butter, but not butter. If you’ve never tried a tongue scraper, stop by our clinic and I’ll give you one for free. (Seriously!)

7. Maybe we should do a video on this? Let me know. 

Stay safe and healthy! If you want individualized instructions, or if you’re ready for a checkup, we are seeing patients again now. Book your appointment online today or call us. 

-Dr. Yang