DENTAL CARE

Jeffrey Gross, DDS, FAGD Q: Can You Make A Suggestion for Mouth Care Priorities for the New Year?? A: You bet I can! First of all, allow me a moment to wish a Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that this year will be filled with wonderful things for everyone. Now let me get to our topic at hand. There is no feeling better than that of making a fresh start. Our lives revolve around a yearly calendar. We get this wonderful opportunity to mentally refresh and recharge ourselves. I can not stress how important this is to each and every one of us. We rarely think about ourselves as the time goes by. The month of January allows us to reflect upon ourselves and look at how we can do things differently than in the past. The guiding motivation is not only “different”, but “better”. It is a well known fact that memberships in health clubs explode in January. Unfortunately, few people really maintain the enthusiasm and commitment as time goes on. Today, I am going to focus on making our goals real and attainable. Specifically, I am going to focus on techniques to improve our oral health. I have spoken at length in this column and face to face in the office about the impact of oral health on our general health. My suggestions will therefore have implications that go beyond the mouth. It’s ramifications are endless. One of the reasons that New Year’s Resolutions don’t work is that they are too broad and extensive. This translates into unrealistic goals and expectations. The key to success is to think of a small and incremental change that will impact you and your life. Once you have that thought, then make the change even smaller. Make it something that you can do immediately and simply. Okay, so let’s look at my list. 5 STEPS TO IMPROVE YOUR ORAL HEALTH. 1. Get a New Toothbrush.

This is so simple. A builder once told me that “new” is always good. He is absolutely right about this concept.It applies equally as well in the mouth. Toothbrushes are most efficient when the bristles are fresh. Over time, they do not clean as well. For the short term, our mouths do not feel as fresh with a worn brush. In the long term, they are not doing their job causing prolems and we are wasting our time. 2. Get Your Teeth Cleaned.

This is a great time to set up a cleaning visit. We all ate too much during the holiday season and probably didn’t brush as well as we should. The timing is perfect to remove the tartar and stain from our teeth. Seeing freshly cleaned teeth is always a great motivator for oral health. 3. Select 1 Need and Take Care of It. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by recommended procedures. It is simply easier to forget everything in the face of multiple needs. For example, you may need 4 fillings. Rather than just letting things go, pick 1 filling and get it taken care of. If you follow that approach, it will be much easier and not be such a burden on you in terms of time, effort and possibly finances. 4. Eliminate 1 Junk Food During The Day. Junk food, in general, and holiday treats, specifically, all wreak havoc with our mouths. These sticky foods do not come off of our teeth naturally. It takes work to remove them from our tooth enamel. Usually the time and place are inconvenient for effective removal of sticky food products. I recommend that you stock up or carry a sweet fruit with you. It is loaded with fiber, great nutrients and really will satisfy your sweet tooth. 5. Spend Another 30 Seconds Brushing Your Teeth

We all spend too little time brushing. Once we have made the effort to go to a bathroom, haul out the toothbrush and turn on the sink water we have done all of the hard things. It is so easy to spend a little more time brushing and try to reach our goal of debris free teeth. Another half of a minute is time well spent. These are all goals and techniques that are easy to do. Find one that you like and adopt it. It will stay with you and reward you in the future. If you have any question about my 5 STEPS, please call me at 440.951.7856. I look forward to hearing from you.