Clean teeth and oral health is a sign of an overall wellbeing and self-confidence, but plaque is a problem faced by many.
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If left alone plaque turns to tartar. It is formed by accumulated bacteria in your mouth and looks like a yellow layer that is also called as calculus. Though removal of plaque usually requires a visit to your dentist, you can also remove it using some natural remedies.
What Causes Tartar and Plaque Buildup
Irregular brushing habits, skipping flossing your teeth, unhealthy diet, eating too many sweets and forgetting your dentist all result in the form of plaque in your mouth.
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- Brushing your teeth twice, preferably using a toothpaste that contains fluoride can control bacteria build up in your mouth.
- Flossing can help prevent plaque since it cleans places between your teeth where tooth brush can’t reach. You can buy floss from most drug stores and supermarkets
- The right kind of food is the best way to keep plaque away. Some foods that are healthy for your teeth are apples, carrots and cucumbers. And please avoid processed food also.
- Sweets facilitate plaque buildup since they contain high degree of sugar.
- Even after all these precautions, it is not possible to get rid of plaque completely, so it is advised that you visit your dentist at least twice a year for a thorough checkup.
Tartar Is Harmful
Tartar is porous and hard and as such lets many harmful bacteria to breed freely inside it. This translates into gum diseases, cavities and teeth loss. If left alone, tartar keeps growing and calcifying. Plaque is the first stage of tartar and if plaque is not cleared from teeth in time, it will harden into tartar and damage the enamel. It will result in gum diseases and other painful oral infections. Tartar can lead to severe diseases like gingivitis and causes bone degeneration. In worse cases, it can also lead to heart diseases.
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Maintain your lovely smile
Baking soda
Pour some baking soda into a small vessel, wet your tooth brush dip it on the vessel and brush. Mixing a pinch of salt with the baking soda increases its effectiveness. You can even make your own mouthwash: take one-half cup baking soda, one cup water, 10 drops essential lemon oil, 4 teaspoons vegetable glycerin, and 1 teaspoon aloe Vera gel. Mix all the ingredients and store in a bottle, use once or twice a day.
Strawberries and Tomatoes
Rub these fruits on your teeth, let it sit for a while, say 5 minutes. This will soften any tartar build up in your mouth. Rinse your mouth well with warm water mixed with baking soda. You can also use other vitamin C rich foods like bell peppers, berries, lemons, papaya, oranges, and lime the same way.
Food Coloring
Food coloring can help you spot plaque. But before you use do dab a little petroleum jelly on your lips so that it doesn’t stain. Then put a few drops of food coloring in a teaspoon of water and swish it around your mouth well. Spit it out and rinse your mouth with clean water. Now if there are areas of plaque in your mouth, they can be seen highlighted by the food coloring. Clean those places with tooth brush and brush those areas more while brushing your teeth daily.
Cheese
An ounce of cheese a day keeps the plaque away. Of course, aged cheese like Swiss or Cheddar can counteract the acid that enables plaque buildup. The more aged the cheese is the better they work on your teeth. It is found out that a component in aged cheese blunts the acidic build up that leads to plaque. The Student Care Center at the University of Chicago suggests that eating raw peanuts can render the same effect as the cheese.
Apples and Melons
Eating apple or melon after you meal helps prevent plaque and gum bleeding.
Orange Peels
Rub the rind of an orange on your teeth before going to bed and do not rinse your mouth after that, as it helps your teeth fight against bacteria.
Spicy Food
If there is spicy food in your menu on a regular basis then it is a good way to keep away from plaque. Spicy food stimulates salivary glands and sufficient amount of saliva is produced. As saliva itself has a kind of anti-bacterial property, it will naturally clean your mouth.
Sesame Seeds
Chewing sesame seeds can soften the plaque or tartar buildup in your mouth. Brush your teeth after chewing sesame seeds; you can get rid of plaque fast.
Dental Pick
Use a dental pick to pick tartar or plaque out from your mouth. But care should be taken when using it as careless picking may lead to gum bleeding, infection and irritation.
Oral Cleanser
Use an anti-septic oral cleaner or hydrogen peroxide to loosen the tartar or plaque in your mouth. Make a solution mixing one cap of hydrogen peroxide with one glass of water and gargle with it.
Floss
Flossing helps to flush out food particles that are stuck between your teeth. These are hard to clean by brushing or gargling.
Prevention is better than cure
- Use a brush with softer fiber and do vertical stroke rather than horizontal side to side. Clean the space where teeth and gum meet.
- Use floss to remove food particles that are inaccessible to brush
- Include spicy food on your menu more often if not regularly. Spices stimulate salivary glands the saliva they produce can cleanse your mouth most certainly.
- Rubbing the rind of an orange on your teeth before going to bed helps fight plaque buildup. Do not wash it off. Let the sap of the rind work against the plaque.
- Quit smoking, tobacco products contain tar that sticks to your teeth which results in plaque buildup.
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Image courtesy: mansfielddental.info , drperrone.com
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