Tooth Care

Eating the right foods is important to the health of your teeth. Your teeth need healthy food just like the rest of your body. What your teeth don't need is too much sugar. Eating too many foods that are high in sugar or that break down into sugar, can hurt your teeth and cause tooth decay.

Tooth decay is caused by bacteria and sugar. The bacteria in your mouth changes sugar into an acid that hurts your teeth. The bacteria can also stay on your teeth in a sticky film called plaque. Plaque can hurt your teeth and the gums that hold your teeth in place.

Brushing your teeth regularly and properly with a good toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste can help prevent tooth decay. Brushing your teeth with toothpaste helps scrub away plaque and food on and between your teeth. You should brush your teeth at least twice a day and between meals, too, if you can.

Using fluoride toothpaste to clean your teeth is important. Fluoride is a substance that helps strengthen your teeth and helps prevent tooth decay. Fluoride is often added to toothpaste and our drinking water to help prevent tooth decay.

Cleaning your teeth with a good, unworn toothbrush is important, too. You should replace your toothbrush every 3 months or sooner if it becomes worn out. A worn-out toothbrush will not clean your teeth very well.

Using dental floss, a special thread, helps keep your teeth and gums healthy. If you carefully move dental floss between your teeth and gums, you can get out the plaque and food that your toothbrush missed. You should floss your teeth at least once a day.

Visiting your dentist, the doctor who checks your teeth, at least twice a year can help you keep your teeth and gums healthy. Your dentist will check your teeth for decay and clean your teeth with special tools. Your dentist can show you the best way to brush and floss your teeth.

If you eat foods that are high in sugar, don't brush and floss properly and don't visit your dentist, your teeth and gums can get sick. When you don't get the plaque off your teeth, you can develop soft spots or holes in your teeth called cavities. If you don't get plaque out from between your teeth and gums, it can cause gum disease.

Cavities and gum disease can cause real problems for your teeth. Cavities and gum disease can give you toothaches and make you lose your teeth unnaturally. If you get a cavity in a tooth, a dentist will have to fill it so it doesn't get worse. If you develop gum disease, your dentist will have to help you take care of it.