What is Hygiene?
Dental or oral hygiene is the activity of keeping your mouth clean in order to prevent dental disorders such as cavities, halitosis, periodontitis, and gingivitis. Oral hygiene is something that can and should be taken care of by both you and your dental professional.
Your personal care should involve two daily tasks of brushing and flossing your teeth. You can also add mouthwash to your daily routine to help reduce bacterial count and activity in your mouth. Not only is it important for you to take care of your teeth for health reasons, but your pocket book could use the relief as well. Cavities and fillings are not your ideal monetary situation.
Your dentist or dental hygienist can help you with professional care of your teeth. It is often difficult, even with regular brushing and flossing, to clean all the plaque build up on your teeth. That is why it is important to have a regular tooth cleaning at least once per year and ideally twice per year. They will use tooth scaling, polishing, and debridement to loosen and remove deposits from your teeth.
