What happens when you skip brushing?

It might not seem like a big deal if you fall asleep before brushing your teeth from time to time or if you sacrifice brushing your teeth in order to be on time for work in the morning. However, each time you don’t brush your teeth allows more plaque to build up on your teeth. Failing to brush twice a day is providing an opportunity for plaque to start forming cavities in your teeth.

If you’ve ever felt a thin film on your teeth, or felt like they are slightly sticky or fuzzy feeling, this is a sign of plaque attacking your teeth. Not only does plaque turn into tartar and cause cavities, but it can also cause inflammation and disease in your gums. Brushing for two minutes twice a day can help keep bacteria and plaque at bay, leading to many health benefits. Not only will you be less at risk of cavities, but it can keep your breath fresher, leave your mouth feeling cleaner, and make your smile shine brighter.

Skipping brushing one time is not going to doom you to a mouthful of cavities, but the more you forget, the more the plaque builds up. Try not to skip brushing if at all possible. If you don’t have access to a toothbrush or toothpaste, chewing sugar free gum can be better than nothing; but remember that chewing gum, using mouthwash, or popping a breath mint is not a substitute for brushing,

If you have questions about brushing your teeth or plaque and cavities, you can contact our office today!

Have you ever noticed anything while you were at the store shopping for toothpaste? Nearly every

tube of toothpaste on the shelves is mint flavored. There are the traditional flavors such as peppermint,

fresh mint, or spearmint. There are the new flavors such as Crest’s Mint Chocolate Trek, Vanilla Mint

Spark, and Lime Spearmint Zest. The thing that all of these toothpastes have in common is mint. Human

mouths can typically distinguish between hundreds and even thousands of distinct flavors. So why is

mint the dominant flavor in toothpaste?

For hundreds of years, people have used various methods to freshen their breath and clean their teeth.

The first factor to examine is the abundance of access to mint oils. Mint oil is cheap and there is an

abundance of it year round, which makes it ideal to use as a flavoring when mass producing products.

Another critical factor that keeps mint in favor as the top toothpaste flavor is the tingling fresh sensation

that mint causes in the mouth. You have probably noticed that mint makes your mouth feel colder and

leaves a sensation. This cooling feeling can be appealing or even addicting, and creates the assumption

of fresher breath.

Other flavors of toothpaste do exist if you look for them hard enough, and they can work just as well

and in the same way as the mint toothpastes from major brands. One popular example is Tom’s of

Maine, which produces toothpaste flavors such as Orange-Mango.