6 Ways To Better Care For Your Teeth Enamel and Gums

This blog post is sponsored by Crest. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Bubby and Bean possible.

Health and wellness in general has been a theme for me in 2018, both here on the blog and in real life. I don't think there is any one specific reason for this, but at the end of last year, after feeling overwhelmed with stress, constant sickness in our house, and some really intense life experiences with loved ones being ill, something clicked and I realized that I no longer had a choice - I needed to be consistent about focusing on keeping my body/mind/spirit (and, of course, those of my little ones too) at the best they could be.

Included in this overall wellness, of course, is dental health. You guys may have noticed that I've been posting about taking care of teeth/gums/mouth quite a bit here and on my social accounts this year. And that's because I keep learning more and more, both from my dentist and from studies I've read, about how much dental health is connected to the health of the rest of our bodies. I've really committed to focusing on taking the absolute best care possible of my teeth and my family's teeth for this reason. And today and over the next few months, I plan to share with you some of my tips and other things I've learned and discovered about keeping our teeth and gums as healthy as possible.

Today in our dental health journey (I feel like the beginning of one of those old school 1980s educational film strips saying that; anyone else remember those or am I just old?), I'm going to share some things I've learned and that we've been implementing about ways to protect and repair the enamel on our teeth, while caring for our gums as well.

1. Drink water throughout the day. Our dentist suggested this for my husband, who is an everyday runner. She told us that runners tend to have drier mouths, and that dry mouths (no matter what the cause) can weaken enamel. Staying hydrated helps produce adequate salvia, which in turn helps prevent tooth decay and enamel corrosion by washing away food particles and bacteria. Drinking water is great for your body in general too, so it's a win-win. (Bonus: If you can't brush right after you eat, rinsing with water helps flush away left over food, bacteria, and acids.)

2. Use a soft toothbrush. It can be tempting to want to use a hard bristled brush and go to town scrubbing your teeth, but my dentist told me that it's always best for both your enamel and gums to use a soft toothbrush and to brush gently.

3. Chew gum after meals. If you can't brush or rinse right after a meal, my dentist suggests chewing a piece of sugar free gum. Chewing gum help stimulate saliva production, which as I mentioned above helps wash away bacteria and leftover food.

4. Use new Crest Gum & Enamel Repair toothpaste. My regular readers and followers already know we're big fans of Crest's gum health-focused toothpaste, but Crest Gum & Enamel Repair toothpaste is our favorite one yet. It was designed to specifically focus on helping to repair enamel by penetrating the tooth surface, to remineralize and strengthen areas of weakened enamel, while also targeting the gum lines to neutralize hidden plaque bacteria and provide further bacterial protection. And its Enhanced Protection Technology creates a shield of protection that slows cavity-causing attacks and erosion. So basically, it does a whole lot of great things to protect tooth enamel and gums, as well as to reverse gingivitis and the effects of it. Pretty great, right? And it's available in two varieties: Intensive Clean and and Advanced Whitening. You can pick up a tube of Crest Gum & Enamel Repair of your very own at Walmart stores nationwide.(Pssst... See the bottom of this post for how you can save $3.00 on Crest Gum & Enamel Repair along with some of your other favorite Crest toothpastes!)

5. Avoid sweets. This is admittedly my least favorite way to care for my teeth, because I love sweets. I mean, I love them. Unfortunately, bacteria love sugar as much as I do. When you're eating lots of sweets, bacteria thrives in your mouth and produces acids that break down the enamel. Cutting down on sweets, as brutal as it may be, is one of the main ways I've been taking care of my mouth and overall health this year.

6. Avoid acidic food and drinks. Coffee and all things lemon are at the very top of my favorite things list, so this ones almost as tough for me as the sweets. But acidic food and drinks can wreak havoc on your tooth enamel. My compromise is to make sure I brush or rinse with water immediately after consuming food or drinks with high acid levels.

So there you have it friends - my tips (and my dentist's!) for ways to better care for your teeth's enamels and gums. If you have any tips I may have missed, I'd love to hear them!

Oh, and as I mentioned above, today, September 28th, through October 1st, you can save $3.00 on Crest Gum & Enamel Repair along with Crest Gum Detoxify, Crest 3D Whitening Therapy, and 3D White Brilliance at your local Walmart. Woohoo! Just check your Sunday (September 30th) newspaper for a $1.00 brandsaver coupon to use for one Crest Toothpaste (3oz. or more) OR one Crest Kid’s Toothpaste (3oz. or more), and click here for a $2.00 Ibotta Rebate that is good until November 15th.

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