My Oral Care Protocol

Gum disease (often due to untreated tooth decay) may increase the risk of heart disease by 20%.

Good oral hygiene may not only protect your teeth… but your whole body.

My oral care protocol

Here are 6 steps you can follow to get your oral health in order:

1. Water flosser: These devices use a high-pressure stream of water to remove food, plaque, and bacteria from hard-to-reach places. Do this morning and night.
2. Floss: After using the water flosser to loosen particles, use floss for plaque and debris removal. Morning and night.
3. Brush: You can use an electric or manual brush. Soft bristles clean without unneeded harshness on teeth or gums. Morning and night.
4. Tongue scraper: This is a game changer. It can significantly improve oral hygiene. The tongue needs cleaning, too. Morning and night.
5. Cleanings: Visit your dentist at least 2 times a year. It is important to identify problems early and remove hardened plaque. Even with diligent brushing and flossing at home, it's difficult to remove all plaque from your teeth.
6. Bruxism device: I ground my teeth at night for 20 years. A dentist on Blueprint recommended the SomnoDent Bruxism Device. If you have bruxism, speak to your dentist and consider a device. Wear while sleeping.

Oral hygiene tips

Follow these tips to maintain teeth and gum health:

• reduce sugar: Try sugar alternatives like trehalose, monk fruit, xylitol, and allulose.
• reduce acidic liquid: Avoid extended exposure to acidic fluids such as coffee and lemon water.
• avoid dry mouth: Stay hydrated. Saliva protects your teeth by washing away food debris, neutralizing acid, and carrying essential ions like calcium, which help remineralize your enamel, making it stronger.
• use a travel toothbrush when on the go: Throughout the day, you can sneak away to a bathroom and give your teeth a clean.

What to ask your dentist

As with anything, it's important to understand your baseline.

Ask your dentist to evaluate:

• attachment loss: the loss of supportive tissue around teeth. Poor attachment can lead to tooth loss if severe.
• pocket depth: measures from the top of the gum line to the bottom of the pocket where the gum attaches to the tooth. Healthy gums have a pocket depth of 1-3 mm.
• plaque index: measures the thickness of dental plaque on the tooth's surface. Your dentist might stain your mouth with a solution that reveals the plaque.
• gum bleeding: you want gums that don't bleed easily. Your dentist might check your gums to assess this.

These are small habits that will pay off in big ways.