Summertime tends to mean relaxing for a lot of people. Some people travel across the world, and others will travel to the beach, and still, others will remain home. The one thing that they all have in common is their increased need to watch their oral hygiene. It is easy to stop taking care of your teeth when you aren’t in front of people and when you are focused on getting the most out of your vacation. However, more than any other time, summertime is when we need to be consistent with our oral routines.
SWEETS AND FOODS
We all like sweets, and beyond that, we all like food. Food is one of the reasons that people are encouraged to travel around the world. They travel through time zones, across oceans, sometimes into another hemisphere to get a particular food. And all of that traveling does a number on our routines. But even for those who aren’t traveling, increased sweets and late nights can be a recipe for poor dental hygiene. If you are one of the people who tends to forget to brush their teeth at night, set a timer for 30 minutes after your last meal, and then brush your teeth after it goes off. Then, you’ve fulfilled your obligation. And if you are a traveler or don’t know if you’ll have access to a sink and your brush, either take celery with you to brush your teeth after a meal or invest in a travel-sized toothbrush. Some of them even come with built-in toothpaste and are disposable after being used.
TEMPERATURE CHANGES
If you are a lover of ice and cold drinks, you’ll also need to be careful during the summer. We find that intense and frequent changes in temperature in your mouth may lead to a crack in your teeth. Similar to how windshields on cars begin to crack from the change in temperature from the sun to cold, our teeth can also crack and change from the dramatic change. If you’d like to know more or would like to schedule an appointment, give our office a call.