Taking Care Of Your Teeth
Personal hygiene these days requires quite the shopping spree for various products that help us groom and primp each day. With so many brands and varieties of items at the drug store, it’s hard to pick the best of each. Especially when it comes to tooth care. There’s brushing, flossing, mouth washing, gum chewing...you put it all into practice, all before making your morning coffee.
Dental hygiene is essential to your health, though it’s easy to forget about when all you want to do is a quick 30 second swipe of the gums with your toothbrush and be done with it. Here are some tips on how to pick the best toothpaste for your tooth care:
Tooth sensitivity - Sensitive teeth is a common problem for many people, causing them to avoid cold foods such as ice cream or even drinking cold water. If you have trouble with enamel erosion or tartar build up, try Sensodyne or other toothpaste brands on the market that are designed specifically for sensitive teeth.
Child sensitive - Teaching a child how to brush their teeth can be a fun task, if you make it fun. Buying a toothpaste that is void of ingredients that are not good to swallow. Of course you’re going to teach them not to swallow it, but all that foam in their mouth is a new experience for them and they are bound to start out by swallowing a little. There are many kid-friendly brands on the market designed with cartoon themes, brightly coloured packaging, and assorted flavors to warm your toddler up to the idea of brushing their teeth. Search the childrens’ section in any drug store and let them pick out what they want.
Natural or organic - Baking soda and tea tree oil are the main ingredients in toothpastes that are classified as ‘organic’, so look for those when going the all natural route for your teeth. Most toothpastes contain SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) which is a concern for some people as they believe it to be too harsh an ingredient, so in that case organic may be the way to go. Arm & Hammer specializes in toothpastes containing baking soda and there are plenty of other options as well, including home made recipes.
Whitening - Let’s not forget about the aesthetic effects of teeth brushing, we all enjoy having a pearly white smile. Many toothpastes claim to whiten the teeth but don’t exactly follow through with the promise, at least not dramatically. You may have to browse around and experiment to find a brand that does the job, but brushing your teeth in addition to applying whitening strips is always an option too.
Taste and texture - It’s important to be frequent with brushing your teeth, at least twice a day, but in order to do that you might as well enjoy the chore as much as possible. For people with a sensitive gag reflex and picky taste buds, try a toothpaste with a flavor that you like, particularly one not so strong in peppermint. There’s also the choice of gel or paste, some find that one is harder to tolerate than the other. Gel can get clumpy, paste can produce too much foam or not enough. If you’re bothered by your current toothpaste texture, shop around for something else that will motivate you to keep up with your daily tooth care routine.
 Courtney Gilmour | |
| About the author: | |
Courtney is a published writer, stand-up comic, and shameless Internet enthusiast. She holds a double bachelors degree in English Literature and Communication Media Studies, specializing in semiotic theory, however she doesn't get Shakespeare and has never won a game of Scrabble. Currently she lives in Toronto and works as a writer for WOMAN.CA. | |
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