With the COVID-19 pandemic, dental offices across the nation have had to limit hours and services. Aside from emergencies, any regular checkups and treatments have been postponed or canceled. But what should you do if you missed your regular dental checkup? Dr. Kevin Welinsky of Welinsky dental care, a dentist in Towson, MD, offers some tips.
Reschedule That Missed Dental Appointment
Just because your appointment isn’t an emergency doesn’t mean that it’s not important. Your regular checkup and cleaning are essential for maintaining optimal oral health. It’s also a good way to catch any problems in your mouth right at the start. Our office may have already reached out to you about rescheduling. If not, call us or use our online scheduling tool to schedule something for the future.
Take Care of Your Oral Health at Home
Especially since you’re missing a scheduled cleaning, it’s important to make sure you’re taking care of your teeth at home. It’s difficult to make sure that you’re getting everything done when you’re thrown out of your routine. You’re adjusting to working from home or helping your children with their online learning. It makes sense that making sure you brush or floss enough throughout the day can fall by the wayside.
However, this is a crucial step to making sure that your teeth stay healthy. You want to avoid tooth decay and gum disease. Brushing more won’t hurt, so if it’s helpful, brush after every real. At the very least, make sure that you brush during the morning and night. Set an alarm or reminder on your phone to go off during these times. That way, the whole household can be reminded as well if need be.
Try to Eat a Healthy and Balanced Diet
Isolation is a time when many of us are tempted to keep snacking and eat unhealthy foods. Grocery stores have reduced or limited hours and are struggling to keep certain foods on shelves while people are stocking up for lockdowns. It may be hard to get the things that you know would be best for both your oral and overall health. There are some simple rules to follow, though, for optimum oral health.
First, avoid an excessive amount of sugar. This includes both food and beverages. Things like sports drinks, for example, contain a large amount of sugar, which you may not realize. Sugar is extremely bad for your oral health. Harmful bacteria in the mouth are feeding on that sugar and releasing an acidic byproduct. That byproduct eats through the enamel on your teeth and leads to tooth decay.
Also, ensure that water is the number one drink you’re consuming during this time. Particularly if you’re drinking tap water. Most tap water in the United States is fortified with fluoride, which strengthens the enamel on your teeth. Water also keeps your mouth hydrated and assists with flushing sugar and food particles away from your teeth.
Your Dentist in Towson, Maryland
We’ll be here for you after this pandemic to make sure your smile is healthy and gleaming. With the added stress of the crisis, it’ll also be important to make sure that it hasn’t had a negative impact on your smile. Call us or schedule an appointment online for the future. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing your smile in our office soon!