My Natural Dental Hygiene Routine
"You have the best teeth that I have seen all week" Dr Tyler
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Making just a few small changes to your daily dental hygiene routine can help to optimise not only the health of your mouth but your whole body. In this blog post I am going to share with you my natural dental hygiene routine that I do each day and recommend as a nutritionist.
For a little over two years, I’ve been committed to following a natural dental hygiene routine. The inspiration to write this post came after a recent visit to my dentist, Dr. Tyler, who told me, “You have the best teeth I’ve seen all week!” Hearing that felt like confirmation that all my research, effort, and dedication to a natural routine were truly paying off. What once seemed like a leap of faith—switching to natural products—now feels like one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my health.
After reading this post, be sure to check out my next blog, "The Best Natural Dental Hygiene Products," where I’ll share my top recommendations to help you on your journey to a healthier smile!
My Natural Dental Hygiene Routine
Having a daily dental hygine routine is essential for good oral health. Here is what I do as a Nutritionist to keep my oral health the best it can be.
Brush your teeth as soon as you wake up
If you do not do this already it can take a little getting used to switching from brushing your teeth after eating and drinking to before. For me this was a game changer when it came to supporting my dental health.
Overnight bacteria builds up within your mouth that you will want to brush off before you eat or drink anything. By brushing your teeth before eating/drinking it can help to reduce the amount of unwanted bacteria entering your digestive system that may put additional strain onto your immune system and gut.
If you brush your teeth after eating or drinking you may also be rubbing food particles or sugar molecules into your teeth. This could potentially act a little like sand paper wearing down the protective enamel that wrap around your teeth over time.
The final reason why you should brush your teeth after breakfast is that the food particles that get trapped within your mouth after eating can help to feed the good bacteria within your mouth keeping it healthy. Prebiotic foods, such as oats, flaxseed and banana all help to feed the good bacteria in your mouth. If you brush your teeth straight after eating/drinking them they will not be available to feed the good bacteria within your mouth.
Mindfully brush your teeth
When you have to do something like brushing your teeth everyday it can be all too easy to spend time in your head thinking rather than concentrating on what you are doing. When we do this we do not do a very good job and we are also prone to brushing the same teeth, in the same order and missing the same spots. I therefore recommend using the time when you are brushing your teeth to practice mindfulness (a practice that involves focusing on the present moment).
When you first put your toothbrush in your mouth start by brushing a different spot in your mouth every time. This is because the first place that you put the brush in your mouth will get the most amount of toothpaste.
Then take your time to work your way around every tooth. You can either work tooth by tooth or I choose to do the back, tops and fronts in sections. Try to rub for a few seconds on each side of each tooth. Keep in mind that you will tend to brush your teeth in the same way each time so be mindful of this any try rubbing your teeth with the brush in a different directions every now and then to make sure you never miss a spot.
When you brush mindfully you are also less likely to brush too hard or too vigorously. If you brush too hard it can damage your enamel and if you brush too vigorously (fast and intense) it can inflame your gums. Practice brushing hard enough that you are going to remove any unwanted food particles and plaque build up but not so much that it can cause damage.