The surfaces of your teeth are a great place for bacteria to grow. Because your mouth is also a good place for bacteria to live, you can never get rid of all bacteria from your teeth. But luckily, you don't have to do that to keep your teeth healthy. Some bacteria can even be good for you.
Some bacteria can help keep your mouth alkaline and also help break down food and make saliva flow better. So, if you want to get rid of bacteria, try to get rid of only the bad ones and leave the good ones alone instead of going for the nuclear option.
Here are some ways you can help the good bacteria in your mouth do their job.
Give them an environment that is neither acidic nor basic.
A neutral or slightly alkaline environment in your mouth can make it harder for bad bacteria to grow and make it easier for good bacteria to grow, which aren't usually ones that like acid. Normal saliva tends to stay around PH neutral, so all you need to do is keep your mouth from getting more acidic.
Sadly, a lot of foods and drinks are acidic or cause acids to form in your mouth bacteria when pathogenic eat them. Some of these are:
• Fruits, most of which are acidic
• Black tea and coffee (tea is less acidic than coffee)
• Sodas and sports drinks
• Anything with sugar, even natural sugar
• Anything with refined starches, like bread
There's no need to stop eating these things. But the more you keep them to mealtimes and don't eat or drink them throughout the day, the more time your mouth has to work on staying alkaline. After you're done eating, you should also rinse your mouth with water to get any leftover food off your teeth.
Eat Foods with Good Bugs
Good bacteria in your mouth can be restored by eating foods with live probiotics. This effect doesn't last very long, so you'll need to eat probiotics often. Just remember that some probiotic foods, like kombucha, are very acidic and should only be eaten with meals, not all day long.
You could also take a probiotic supplement by mouth. These are different from most probiotic supplements because they are made to dissolve in your mouth. This way, the bacteria are delivered to your mouth instead of your stomach.
Don't push them away
When bad bacteria do well, it hurts the good ones. Pathogenic bacteria tend to change the biofilm on your teeth to make it better for themselves. They make it thicker and more acidic, which isn't so good for good bacteria. And when there are too many bad bacteria, there isn't much room left for the good ones.
In addition to the food precautions, we've already talked about, you can take other steps to stop bad bacteria from growing too much. One of these is to brush and floss your teeth more than once a day. You should also brush or scrape your tongue. Another way is to eat a piece of gum with xylitol after each meal. The xylitol stops the bad bacteria from multiplying too quickly.
Use Arginine Toothpaste.
Arginine is now in some types of toothpaste. Arginine can feed the alkalinizing bacteria in the biofilm on your teeth, which helps neutralize the acids that pathogenic bacteria make. And it can slow the growth of bad bacteria, making it harder for plaque to form as quickly.
These four tips can help you take care of the needs of the good bacteria in your mouth while stopping the bacteria that cause cavities from multiplying.
But keep in mind that taking care of your teeth at home is just one part of the picture. Treasured Smiles Adult & Cosmetic Dentistry can give you the professional care you need to keep your mouth healthy, fix any damage, and treat any signs of gum disease before they get worse. Contact us today to find out more about all of the dental services we offer.
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