Carers volunteer hours upon hours of their time every week to care for their loved ones. With such a selfless attitude their own health and wellbeing can sometimes be forgotten. To celebrate National Carer’s Week, we’ve put together some quick and easy dental tips for busy carers.
1. Keep up your daily routine
Sometimes this can be difficult, but it is important to keep up your daily oral health routine. Brushing twice a day and flossing at least once daily is your goal.
If you are travelling or on-the-go a lot of the time, keep a spare toothbrush and toothpaste in your bag so that you can maintain your routine even when you aren’t at home.
If you have to brush the teeth of the person you care for, consider doing yours before or after to keep that routine consistent.
2. Drink plenty of water
Staying hydrated is important, but water will also help reduce the chance of tooth decay by clearing bacteria, leftover food particles, and plaque from the mouth. Limit sugary drinks to meal times and try to sip on water in between.
3. Maintain a healthy diet
Keeping a balanced diet and limiting your snacking will help reduce the chance of oral health problems. Snacking during the day increases the rate of tooth decay by increasing acid production. After eating, our mouth needs a break so that our saliva can neutralise the acids in our mouth. When we snack throughout the day our mouth can’t offset all the acid attacks from the food we are eating. As a carer, you may be short on time and quick snacks might seem like the best option, but it’s important to try and stick to a meal routine to give your mouth the chance to neutralise acids.
4. Carry Sugar-Free Gum
Chewing sugar-free gum increases the flow of saliva in the mouth. As we mentioned earlier, saliva helps neutralise acids in the mouth. Saliva also helps remove built-up food particles and bacteria from the mouth. Try to avoid gum with sugar – chewing sugary gums is counterproductive as it contributes to tooth decay.
5. Visit your dentist regularly
Similar to your daily dental routine, it’s important to keep up regular visits to your dentist. You should aim to visit your dentist for a check-up every six months. Although you may feel you have limited spare time, and your dentist appointment is an easy thing to put off, it’s important to take the time to look after your teeth as best you can.
Saturday October 20, we've partnered with Carers Australia to give back to those that give so much! Maven Dental practices across the country will be providing unpaid carers with free dental care as part of Maven Dental Day 2018. We're excited to be giving back to those that give so much!