Rajiv Dental Tooth Tips

• Daily brushing and flossing is the key to good dental health.
• Oral hygiene is often neglected in seniors’ centers, allowing plaque to build up and lead to tooth decay and gum disease. This can be eliminated or avoided by brushing with a fluoride toothpaste at least twice per day.
• Flossing should be done at least once daily. This may be more difficult for seniors with arthritis or tremors, so enlist someone’s aid if necessary.
• As some patients get older, they brush their teeth less often or for less time. Some seniors simply fall asleep early and forget to brush. Others may experience arthritis pain, which may prompt them to brush for less time. There are devices you can buy or make to decrease arthritis pain while brushing, and you can set a bedtime alarm for you to get your teeth brushed if it is becoming a problem. Don't let anything get in the way of your oral health!
• Tongue brushing is too often overlooked, and even more so in older age. While brushing your teeth will always be essential in retaining oral health, it is much less effective unless you brush your tongue daily as well.

Protect Your Child's Teeth

• Supervise under age seven with tooth brushing. If they want to do it themselves, let them, but still do a final brush for them when they've finished.
• Brush with fluoride toothpaste twice a day. Children over six can use an adult strength formula.
• Don't let them rinse after brushing.
• Only give juice or carbonated drinks with meals or snacks. Stick to milk or water other times.
• Use a straw for carbonated drinks.
• Encourage your child to consume drinks as quickly as possible, rather than sipping them over a long period of time.
• Limit sweet-eating to right after meals when the extra saliva crated by chewing will help to protect the teeth.
• Do not put a baby to bed with a bottle/sippy cup or breast-feed a child while sleeping. Use a wet wash-cloth or toothbrush to clean the gums/teeth before putting the child to sleep.