Dentists say that the most important part of tooth care happens at home. Brushing and flossing properly, along with regular dental checkups, can help prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

If you’re like most people, you don’t exactly look forward to facing a dentist’s drill. So wouldn’t it be better to prevent cavities before they begin?

Giving Plaque the Brush-Off

To prevent cavities, you need to remove plaque, the transparent layer of bacteria that coats the teeth. The best way to do this is by brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing at least once a day. Brushing also stimulates the gums, which helps to keep them healthy and prevent gum disease. Brushing and flossing are the most important things that you can do to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

There are a number of problems that affect the oral health of children, including tooth decay, thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, lip sucking, and early tooth loss. Even though baby teeth are eventually replaced with permanent teeth, keeping baby teeth healthy is important to a child’s overall health and well-being.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Baby bottle tooth decay (also called early childhood caries, nursing caries, and nursing bottle syndrome) occurs when a baby’s teeth are in frequent contact with sugars from liquid carbohydrates, such as fruit juices, milk, formula, fruit juice diluted with water, sugar water, or any other sweet drink. Human breast milk can cause tooth decay as well. As these liquids break down in the mouth into simple sugars and are allowed to sit in the mouth, bacteria start feeding on the sugars, causing tooth decay.

Try our True or False quiz and then check your answers below. Some of the answers may surprise you.

1. You should change your toothbrush 2-3 times a year. 
2. Aggressive firm brushing can do more harm than good.
3. Eating lots of sweets causes tooth decay.
4. Sucking on lemons can destroy tooth enamel.
5. The leading cause of tooth loss is cavities. 
6. Chewing on ice cubes is not harmful to your teeth.

Answers

1. False. A toothbrush should not be used longer than a maximum of three months.

The signs and symptoms of cavities and tooth decay vary depending on the extent and location of the cavity. When a cavity is just beginning, you may not have any symptoms at all.

But as the decay gets larger, it may cause such signs and symptoms as:

• Toothache
• Tooth sensitivity
• Mild to sharp pain when eating or drinking something sweet, hot or cold
• Visible holes or pits in your teeth
• Pain when you bite down
• Pus around a tooth