Tips for taking care of your teeth in the summer. Cavities, xerostomia or tooth sensitivity increase at this time of year. With the summer, our oral hygiene can suffer, since we are on vacation and abandon our routine, or simply leave the house more to eat out.<\/p>\n
However, to prevent this temporary loss of habits from taking its toll on us in the following months, at Cl\u00ednica Cervera we want to give you these tips for taking care of your teeth during the summer.<\/p>\n
With the arrival of heat and holidays, some diseases and ailments that affect our teeth and mouth increase.<\/p>\n
At this time of year, these are the most common oral problems: Increased bacterial plaque: as we leave the house more and eat out, we also brush our teeth less.<\/p>\n
This results in an increase in the bacterial plaque that accumulates on our teeth and gums.<\/p>\n
Increased halitosis: more alcohol intake and more tobacco consumption also means that we are more likely to suffer from bad breath.<\/p>\n
Dental hypersensitivity: perhaps the most common dental problem during the summer.<\/p>\n
By drinking more cold and acidic drinks and foods (such as ice cream, soft drinks, lemonades or gazpachos) our tooth enamel can weaken and the dentin (the core of the tooth) is exposed.<\/p>\n
This can cause us a short but intense discomfort, which some describe as a prick or electric shock.<\/p>\n
More dental trauma: doing more contact sports and especially water activities and sports means that more dental trauma occurs in the summer.<\/p>\n
These can be of three types: a tooth falls out due to an impact (in this case, it must be preserved in milk or the patient’s saliva and go to the dentist’s office quickly, at most two hours after the trauma), the tooth breaks or the tooth moves, in these cases it is also necessary to consult a specialist.<\/p>\n
To try to alleviate the effects of summer on our oral hygiene, we can follow these guidelines, endorsed by the General Council of Dentists of Spain itself: Stay hydrated. This will not only help us combat the heat, but will also prevent us from suffering from xerostomia or the sensation of dry mouth.<\/p>\n
By staying hydrated we will also generate more saliva, which is essential for combating bacterial plaque.<\/p>\n
Remember that the ideal is to drink between two and three liters of water a day.<\/p>\n
Brushing your teeth Although it seems obvious, it is true that during the summer, when we leave the house more often, we sometimes forget about oral hygiene.<\/p>\n
Try to always carry a toothbrush and toothpaste.<\/p>\n
You can find these products in travel format so that it’s not such a hassle to always carry them.<\/p>\n
Remember that it is ideal to brush your teeth at least twice a day, for two minutes each time.<\/p>\n
If you don’t have a toothbrush at hand, you could opt for other ways to keep your teeth clean: eating an apple after meals or finishing your meal with a little cheese, which neutralizes the acidity in our mouth.<\/p>\n
If this is not possible, you can chew sugar-free gum with xylitol for about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
But it is important to remember that these are only temporary remedies, and in no case can they replace cleaning with a brush.<\/p>\n
Avoid alcohol and tobacco Although it is normal to have a drink at this time of year, to maintain your dental hygiene in the summer, it is better not to overdo these products.<\/p>\n
Alcohol intake and tobacco use can not only cause bad breath, but they can also stain our teeth.<\/p>\n
Watch out for the sweets!<\/p>\n
In summer, the consumption of ice cream, slushies and other foods with a high sugar content also increases.<\/p>\n
Remember that these products contain very high levels of acids, which will cause tooth enamel to weaken.<\/p>\n
This will increase the risk of suffering from cavities.<\/p>\n
Mouthguard for sports Another thing that we increase during the summer is the practice of sports, and especially aquatic activities.<\/p>\n
This, as we have already said, can cause us to suffer dental trauma that ends in the fracture or loss of the tooth.<\/p>\n
To avoid this, it is advisable to use a mouth guard that will keep us away from these problems.<\/p>\n
Don’t forget the treatments If you are using a discharge splint to combat nighttime bruxism (grinding or grinding your teeth together) or to complete an orthodontic process, don’t forget the splint when you go on vacation!<\/p>\n
Try to continue with all your treatments to avoid problems in the future.<\/p>\n
Protect your lips from the sun In summer you not only have to take care of your teeth and gums, you also have to take care of your lips.<\/p>\n
The layer of skin that covers this muscle is very thin, so you will need good protection to avoid sunburn.<\/p>\n
Visit to the dentist With the holidays, in the summer we have more free time to go to the dentist.<\/p>\n
Therefore, one of the best tips for taking care of your teeth and gums in the summer is to put yourself in the hands of professionals.<\/p>\n
Take advantage of this time to make an appointment with the dentist and have a general check-up. + info: Recommendations for unexpected oral situations <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2974,"template":"","categoria":[67],"class_list":["post-2784","actualitat","type-actualitat","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categoria-salut-bucodental"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualitat\/2784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualitat"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/actualitat"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categoria","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categoria?post=2784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}