Smiling Your Way to a Great First Impression
According to a number of sources, Men and Women both rank the opposite sex’s smile in the top 2 for the biggest factors in making a first impression. Whether for a date, a job interview or any other occasion, first impressions can be everything, so we wanted to take a moment to run through 5 tips to a bright and healthy smile.
#1 Pay Attention to Your Diet
A great place to start is by paying attention to what you are eating and drinking. Different foods have varying effects on your teeth, some good and some not so good. Take some time to consider what your normal weekly consumption looks like. Couple red flags that can dampen your smile would be coffee, soda, and alcohol from a drink standpoint, as well as sticky candy, high citrus fruits and potato chips when it comes to foods. All of these are okay in moderation, but beware if you are overly hooked on one or more of these items. Couple choices that your teeth and gums will love are apples, milk, yogurt and even broccoli.
If you feel like your list of “bad” outweighed your “good”, then focusing on diet would be a perfect place to start you on your path to designing a smile you love to show off!
#2 Stay In a Routine
As the week starts flying by it is easy to feel like you are always in a rush. Some of you are rushing out the door in the morning to get to work or take the kids to school. Others are rushing to bed, so tired after a long day that you forget to take care of our teeth before you close our eyes for the night. As you aim for a great smile, a simple tip is to make sure you stick to a dental routine. Make sure you are taking care of your teeth as the first thing you do when you wake up and the last thing you do before you head to bed at night.
#3 Try the Trifecta of Dental Care
Now that you are committed to a routine it’s time to commit to the trifecta of dental care, brushing, flossing and mouthwash! We know that many of you dislike taking the time to floss, but trust us, your teeth and gums will love you for it. Each of these three activities have a different benefit that contributes to a white and healthy smile. It may take a few extra minutes the first few times you do it, but stick to your routine and you will be flying through this before you know it!
#4 Make Sure Your Brush Is Fresh
So by now you are in a routine and are committed to the trifecta. Next up, let’s make sure that your trifecta tools are up to snuff. Today for tip #4 we are focused on your toothbrush. The American Dental Association recommends that you get a new toothbrush every 3 months or sooner depending on the strength of the bristles. Many are guilty of letting 6-9 months go by without switching out for a new brush. When bristles wear out your teeth and your gums don’t get the same type of cleaning that you need to really keep them healthy and shining bright.
#5 Brush Your Tongue
So let’s say that at this point we have achieved that great first impression smile. The best way to ruin that first impression is to introduce yourself and have your breath introduce itself too. If you suffer from bad breath then a good place to start is to make sure that you are really scrubbing your tongue and cleaning the whole thing. Pair this with the consistent trifecta care we spoke of in #3 and you should kick that unwelcome bad breath.
Closing Thoughts
We hope that these 5 tips for a bright and healthy smile have been helpful. If you are already rocking on all 5 tips, way to go! If that isn’t you then we hope this post was a good timely reminder to step up your dental hygiene and gives you some ideas on how to do so.
Our final tip is to make sure you are visiting us, your local Rock Hill Dentist, for consistent visits. There is no perfect formula for how many times you should visit us, but on average it is recommended to schedule a cleaning and check-up 2x per year. Look forward to seeing you soon and helping you design your smile for that killer first impression!