Top Tips: Healthy Teeth For The Whole Family

Teaching kids' proper oral hygiene is a must for all parents. But have you ever stopped to think that the way you were taught to brush might be slightly outdated?

Just like how what we learn at school can become outdated, so can our oral hygiene routines...

GudYu is here to give you the ultimate guide to healthy teeth and healthy gums at home. You never know, you might pick up a few game-changing tips that you can pass on to your kids!

Why is Oral Hygiene Important?

This might be an obvious question, but it’s a good place to start. Our teeth are with us forever and, unlike basically everything else in our body, don’t grow back if they’re damaged. As such, we must give them the proper care they deserve, every day.

If left unchecked, bacteria can lead to a range of problems, including plaque build-up, decay and gum disease (what dentists call periodontitis). While these problems can technically be fixed, the treatments can be pretty expensive and take a long time.

But we won’t focus on the bad stuff here because it’s not a fun topic. Instead, the bottom line is that proper oral hygiene is the best form of prevention and prevention is better than any cure. Taking care of your teeth is the best way to avoid related health complications, so let’s focus on that instead.

The Ultimate Guide to Healthy Teeth for the Whole Family

Here are some top tips for healthy teeth and gums at home. Make sure you get your kids involved and lead by example when it comes to caring for your teeth!

1. How many times should you brush?

We all know to brush our teeth twice a day, right? This is arguably the minimum for healthy teeth but there’s more to it than that, as it matters when you brush your teeth, too.

If you want to be careful, you can brush your teeth after every meal, but you shouldn’t exceed 3 brushes a day. This is important if you’re using an abrasive toothpaste because too much abrasion can be damaging.

Be sure to wait at least 20 minutes or more after eating before brushing, so your enamel can re-harden. Always make sure you (and your kids) brush right before bed so your mouth is nice and clean overnight.

2. ‘How’ is as important as ‘when’

Teaching kids the proper motion for brushing can be difficult, particularly when they’re young and not super dextrous. Small, circular motions with light pressure is the best technique for brushing, rather than running the brush side to side over your teeth.

Similarly, develop a clear routine with your kids to make sure they don’t miss any teeth. Divide their mouth into sections (such as front and back, top and bottom, inside and outside of teeth) and follow the same pattern every time.

3. Don’t forget your tongue

Did you know plaque can build up on your tongue as well as your teeth? When you’ve finished brushing, and before you spit, give your tongue a gentle brush to remove any plaque that might be hiding on it.

If you don’t want to use your brush, you can buy actual tongue scrapers. Also, some toothbrushes come with a tongue cleaner on the back. Whatever you use, be sure to give your tongue some love for good oral hygiene.

4. Flossing is key

Dentists love flossing, and for good reason. Twiddling that waxy string between your teeth helps dislodge plaque and food that your brush will struggle to reach. Flossing before brushing is far more effective than doing it after, as the brush can then remove all the loose bits.

Getting kids involved with flossing is easier than you might think. As with brushing, you’ll need to do it for them for a few years. But by the age of 7 or 8, most kids are able to do it themselves with some supervision.

Unlike brushing, it’s probably best to keep an eye on them for longer when flossing. After all, it’s easier to swallow floss than a toothbrush!

If either you or your kids struggle with flossing, consider other interdental options. These might be ready-to-use floss harps, water flossers, air flossers, or interdental brushes. They all basically do the same job, but some are more accessible than others.

5. Spit don’t rinse

We’ve covered this in more detail in one of our other posts, but it’s a vital oral hygiene tip to instil in kids. When they’re done brushing, make sure they spit out excess toothpaste rather than rinsing their mouth with water.

This ensures the fluoride remains on their teeth long enough to do its job. Make sure they avoid eating or drinking for at least 10 minutes after brushing, too.

6. The benefit of crunchy food and water

Crunchy fruit and veg can help keep teeth clean between meals. Things like celery, carrot, and apple contain a lot of water and stimulate saliva production. In turn, this minimises acid attacks and bacteria build-up.

Also, make water the drink of choice around the home. To make it more ‘fun’ for kids, infuse it with some fruit to give it flavour. You can even make it a project to come up with new flavours!

7. Choose the right toothpaste

A key to healthy teeth and healthy gums is getting the right toothpaste. Importantly, the choice to use fluoride or not is up to each person, however if your choice is no fluoride then consider toothpastes with hydroxyapatite as an alternative. Key to a good toothpaste is to also understand the ingredients, there are a lot of unnatural ingredients in the big supermarket brands so be sure you know what you're putting in your mouth!

Once you've nailed your new brushing routine, we urge you to trail our GudYu toothpaste tabs. Derived from natural ingredients, perfect doses of fluoride and hydroxyapatite and fun flavour for kids.

Why not try our 14-tab trial to see how they can help you change up your daily routine, and by that we mean no more nagging the kiddies to brush, cause it just got a bit tastier and a bit more fun!