How to Maintain That Perfect Smile at Home
Words Dr Simmi Bharadia
Maintaining the perfect smile really does begin with our at-home routine! We have skincare and haircare routines yet there isn’t much emphasis on our smile routine! Here are 5 tips that you can incorporate into your daily oral hygiene practice to keep your pearly whites healthy.
1. The Basics
I know the basics seem boring but a lot of people still get this wrong! We all need to be brushing our teeth for 2 minutes twice daily with an electric toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. When brushing, ensure that you aren’t just focusing on the front of your teeth; be mindful to brush the back, the side, the biting surface of the teeth and the gum line (where the tooth meets the gum). In addition, flossing is recommended at least once per day to remove plaque, bacteria and food debris from in between the teeth to help prevent cavities and gum disease.
2. Don’t Forget About The Tongue!
I am utterly aware that this isn’t a sexy topic but using a tongue scraper is absolutely essential in my books. The tongue is a hotspot for bacteria, fungi, food, dirt and dead cells which can lead to bad breath and a coated tongue. Use a tongue scraper twice daily to remove this coating and experience the freshest breath you’ve ever had!
3. Avoid Highly Pigmented Food (& Easy Hacks If You Cannot!)
I definitely don’t want to dampen the joy of your morning latte but smoking, red wine, tea and coffee are among a few of the culprits that cause external staining to form on our teeth. This can manifest as brown patches across the teeth that hide our natural tooth shade, making our teeth look much darker than they really are! Try to minimise these highly pigmented foods where possible but if you really can’t resist them, my top hacks would be drinking through a straw and rinsing your mouth with water or mouthwash immediately after consuming.
4. Mouthwash After Meals
A lot of my patients in the clinic tell me they combine the use of mouthwash with brushing, however this is the incorrect way to use mouthwash and doesn’t allow us to experience the benefits! Mouthwash should be used outside of brushing your teeth and works wonders after meals. Not only does it freshen breath and wash away any food or plaque stuck in the teeth, it also floods the mouth with a high concentration of fluoride, which is clinically proven to remineralize our enamel, keeping our teeth strong and bright since the tooth’s enamel layer is responsible for the glossy, pearlescent shine that we all lust after!
5. Treat Yourself To A #TEETHMASK
A luxe at-home treatment that I love is the Advanced Enamel Serum Kit from Regenerate. It contains two custom-fit mouth trays, a mixing stick, enamel serum and an activator gel that work harmoniously to reverse early enamel erosion. This can occur from acidic fruits or sugar-laden fizzy drinks and its side effects include translucency, yellowing and sensitivity. The serum uses patented ‘NR-5 Technology’ which combines calcium silicate and sodium phosphate to form a crystal structure identical to the mineral found in enamel (hydroxyapatite). In combination with the activator gel, this serum improves enamel hardness and prevents tooth cavities.