Concerned About Germs? Don’t Forget about the Mouth

Many people are concerned about germs. When we constantly wash our hands, avoid places that are specifically known for an abundance of germs and continuously disinfecting our home, we could be missing one very large component of the germs in our lives – our mouth. There are more than 400 different types of bacteria that live in our mouths with more than 5 billion particles living in our mouth at one time!

Proper Oral Hygiene

The best way to eliminate the millions of germs that live in our mouth, eventually turning into plaque and putting not only our oral health, but also our physical health at risk is to brush and floss every day. In a perfect world, we would brush our teeth after every meal or drink in order to eliminate all bacteria in our mouth, but we know that this is not always possible. In order to make up for that the following tips should be utilized:

· Brush our teeth in the morning and at night for two minutes at a time

· Floss in between every tooth at least once per day

· Drink plenty of water after every meal to loosen any food particles and decrease the chance of decay

· Chew sugarless gum that carries the ADA seal of approval after eating to increase the production of saliva, which helps to rid our mouths of bacteria

· Avoid smoking as it not only puts bacteria in our own mouth, but also those of anyone that we kis

Sugar is not the only Culprit

Many people make the mistake of thinking that if we did not consume sugar that our mouth is not at risk for germs. Unfortunately, this is not true and is what has led to large amounts of tooth decay and other germs taking up residence in mouths. If any type of food particles are left behind on our teeth or even in between them, they can grow into bacteria which eventually can cause tooth decay, gum disease and even heart disease, stroke and diabetes complications.

The best thing that we can do for our oral and physical health is to brush and floss our teeth the right way as often as possible. This decreases the risk of germs building up in our mouth and putting our health at risk. It only takes a few minutes out of our day to preserve our overall health.