Six Tips for Healthy Summer Smiles

Your dental health is important throughout the whole year, but the excitement of summer makes it easy to accidentally neglect your teeth. Here are six tips for keeping your mouth clean and fresh during the summer!

1. Keep up with your daily dental hygiene.

Brushing twice a day and flossing once a day is the best thing you can do to keep your teeth strong and healthy. Many people consume more sugary foods and drinks as the weather gets warmer, so good oral hygiene is especially important during the summer months. If you haven’t replaced your toothbrush in a while, you should buy a new soft-bristled brush. You should also make sure to buy toothpaste with fluoride, which will help protect your teeth.

2. Drink lots of water.

It can be hard to stay hydrated in hot weather, so drinking plenty of water is essential for your dental hygiene and for your overall health. When you’re dehydrated, your mouth doesn’t produce saliva as efficiently. Saliva washes away bacteria and food particles, which prevents plaque buildup and keeps your teeth and tongue clean.

3. Eat healthy foods.

It’s easy to adopt an unhealthy diet full of ice cream and summer cookout foods, but you should try to incorporate healthy foods into your meals as much as you can. Sugary foods cause plaque buildup, which can lead to cavities and tooth decay. Stock up your kitchen with seasonal fruits and veggies instead, so you always have healthy snacks available. They’ll be better for your teeth and for the rest of your body.

4. Protect your lips.

Most people know how important it is to apply sunscreen during the summer, but you should also protect your lips from sun damage. Your lips don’t have as much melanin as the rest of your skin, so they’re more vulnerable to damage. You can buy lip balm with SPF, which will keep your lips moisturized and protected from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

5. Avoid chewing on ice.

Chewing on ice is a popular way to cool down and get hydrated at the same time. However, this habit can cause serious damage to your teeth. Crunching on ice could chip or break a tooth, and your tooth will have to be removed if it cracks below your gum line. Instead of chewing ice, drink a glass of cold water.

6. Schedule your child’s back-to-school dental cleaning 🙂

You should go to the dentist twice per year, and the end of summer is a great time to schedule an appointment. It is a good time to get back on track if some of your child’s dental habits fell away during summer as well as to check for signs of tooth damage or decay before school is back in session. Regular dentist visits can help keep your teeth clean and can help you discover dental problems early.