Life hacks you can do at home for healthier teeth
Taking care of our teeth and overall oral health must be a regular practice. But if you don't have ready access to maintaining good dental hygiene, you can always turn to natural and practical alternatives.
Learn how to improve teeth and oral cavity, and let Dr. Marilou Pacubas, D.M.D teach you some of the simple life hacks you can do at home!
Oral Hygiene 101: Have you been taking care of your teeth the right way?
Drink milk especially during formative years
Like bones, teeth contain calcium. Because of this, calcium is needed for the proper development and strengthening of teeth.
During the formative years, it is important to drink a lot of milk, a good source of calcium.
Dr. Pacubas explains, “Yes of course, for calcium pero dapat formative years, nung nasa womb ka at saka nung lumalaki ka.
“Pero kung malaki ka na, makakatulong pero konti na lang. Pero better than nothing. Kung ako sa'yo, kumuha ka na lang ng calcium tablet. [Take] calcium tablet every other day,” she continues.
Check the ingredients of your toothpaste
Another simple practice is to simply check the ingredients of your toothpaste. For Dr. Pacubas, she has reservations about fluoride being readily offered in commercial tubes of toothpaste.
She states, “As for me, I don't like fluoride. Kasi ang fluoride should be administered inside the clinic, not outside the clinic. Kasi unang-una, you're not supposed to swallow it. Secondly, hindi siya maganda sa skin mo. 'Pag nag-overstay siya, magkaka-pimples ka. It has to be administered inside the clinic. Hindi siya dapat ilagay sa toothpaste kasi may certain time of exposure for it to be effective, like an exposure of 30 minutes.”
Add baking soda and salt to your paste
Dr. Pacubas admits, “Brushing with baking soda is good. I do it sometimes. It removes bad odor. Just be careful, you have to rinse it very well. [It's] a bit for whitening but more deodorizing.
“They can buy just the ordinary baking soda, then put a little salt, and then ilagay niya 'yung toothpaste niya, tapos ipaghalo niya 'yun. A little iodized salt, and then a little baking soda powder and put it into a cream,” she instructs.
While baking soda aids in eliminating bad breath, salt helps strengthen the gums.
She explains, “That's the olden practice. Kasi noong unang panahon ang ginagamit natin asin at saka apog or 'yung abo. 'Yung abo nire-refine, sinasala nga mga lolo't lola natin para 'yung abong 'yun maging pino tapos lalagyan nila ng asin, at 'yung ang toothpaste nila.”
Add lemon or mint to your drinking water
Dr. Pacubas also advises adding lemon or mint to water to avoid a dry mouth. When dry mouth persists, there is a higher risk for tooth decay and infection in the mouth.
She says, “I-neutralize mo, maglagay ka ng lemon o kaya maglagay ka ng mint, 'yung dahon na mint para maging alkaline 'yung saliva mo. Kasi 'pag masyadong acidic 'yung saliva mo, kasi puro ka inom ng soda at kape, eh 'di acidic ang saliva mo, dry mouth ka.”
Take more greens and more vitamin C
Aside from making your drinks alkaline, Dr. Pacubas stresses that it is important to add healthy supplements to your diet.
She recommends, “Eat more greens, eat more vitamins C. Uminom sila ng maraming tubig. Uminom sila ng natural na vitamin C, bayabas, calamansi, guyabano.”
Plastic spoon as tongue scraper
Tongue scraping is a necessary step in oral care. Since tongue scrapers aren't really common, Dr. Pacubas offers a simple alternative.
She suggests, “Kumuha ka na lang ng plastic na kutsara, ipang-scrape mo sa tongue mo, mas maganda pa.”
Stick to drinks of similar temperatures in one sitting
Dr. Pacubas strongly advises against switching between drinks of extreme temperatures to preserve the quality of your teeth's coating.
She emphasizes, “'Wag na 'wag silang iinom ng malamig na tubig after they drink coffee. They're going to destroy the enamel. It will make their teeth very sensitive. You have to adjust, super hot, warm, lukewarm. Hindi pwedeng extreme.”
Avoid picking your teeth
Dr. Pacubas also discourages the use of toothpicks.
She says, “No picking. We just do picking as dentists. Kami ang nagpi-pick kasi nakikita namin nang close-up 'yung oral cavity. Hindi ka pwedeng mag-pick or else we're creating more problems than removing plaque.
“Pero for example natinga ka lang at hindi mo talaga maiwasan. That very moment lang yes, but not habitual. Kasi 'pag habitual na nagpi-pick ka, may problema ang ngipin mo. Mas lalong magkakaroon ka ng space in between, tinutulak mo 'yung teeth at saka 'yung gums, the more na magkakaroon ka ng food impaction sa ilalim, the more na sasakit,” she ends.