There are many things that can happen in your mouth while you’re sleeping at night. Bacteria will gather up in your teeth, but you shouldn’t let the thoughts of things like cavities, plaque, gingivitis, or tartar keep you up at night. There are a lot of things that you can do to help your mouth stay healthy while you are sleeping.
1. Brush Before You Go to Bed
Brushing before going to bed will help protect your mouth against tooth decay, gum disease, and plaque buildup. If you have a lot of problems with gum disease and cavities, it’s recommended that you brush right after eating dinner and again prior to bed.
2. Use the Right Form of Brushing
Dentists say that you should brush your teeth going gently using strokes across your teeth. Brush the outer surfaces of your teeth, then brush the inner surfaces, then move to your teeth’s chewing surfaces. You are then able to clean the behinds of the teeth at the front of your mouth, use your brush’s tip and stroke your teeth gently using a vertical motion.
3. Ditch the Manual Brush
When you use an electric brush, its oscillating and rotating movement will remove the plaque from teeth a lot more efficiently when compared with manual toothbrushes. Make sure that you’re choosing one that’s simple to use, comfortable for you to hold and comes with an oscillating/rotating head.
4. Don’t Forget to Floss
Flossing will remove plaque buildup and food particles while is soft. When this type of debris stays on your teeth, bacteria is going to increase through the night, feeding off it while you sleep. Not only that but if you let plaque get hard, it’s going to become tartar and this is only removable by a dentist or hygienist during your cleaning. Usually flossing once per day at night is enough for most people. However, people who have tartar buildup or are gum disease prone it’s a good idea to do it twice per day.
5. Rinse Using Mouthwash
Therapeutic mouthwash isn’t just for minty fresh breath. There are ingredients in the therapeutic rinses which can help with treating problems with oral health and strengthening teeth. Rinsing using therapeutic mouthwash will help with keeping your teeth and gums healthy. But beware of the cosmetic mouthwashes since they are just made for masking bad breath and they don’t do much for helping your mouth stay healthy. Speak with your dentist and they can suggest a good mouthwash for your needs.
6. Be Careful of Grinding Your Teeth
If you’re experiencing an increase in tooth sensitivity, a wearing in your tooth enamel, or injuries in your cheeks, it’s possible your teeth are grinding while you sleep. Even though this isn’t something that a dentist can stop you from doing, there are mouth guards that you’ll be able to wear so that your teeth are protected.
These are the things that you can do at night to help your teeth to be healthier. Remember that you want to keep your teeth looking great and go to the dentist when you have a problem. The sooner you have something taken care of, the better chance you have of keeping your tooth and having a great looking smile.