Dental health is one of the areas that has been neglected during COVID-19. With dentists having to close their doors and now having to deal with a huge backlog of patients, oral health has witnessed a huge decline.

The toothbrushing programme in my younger children’s school has just started up again. That was another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the difficulty still for many people to access their dentist, we need to make sure we are keeping on top of oral health ourselves at home.

Here are a few things that might sound basic, but can easily get overlooked when people are busy.

Brush regularly

Sounds basic doesn’t it, but lots of people forget. I never know how that’s possible as my teeth would feel strange, but lots do. As parents we also need to ensure our children are brushing regularly and effectively. Brushing too aggressively can make gums irritated, so try to avoid that.

One way to ensure a good all round brushing session is by using a good quality electric toothbrush. You could try this Flexforce electric toothbrush, which is my personal favourite. This one is designed for adults and comes with a travel kit. There are five teeth cleaning modes, to ensure you get over all services of each individual tooth and have the best oral health possible.

This toothbrush is waterproof and has inductive charging, so no need to plug in! The toothbrush head snaps into place really easily and is very simple to change. My favourite feature is the fact that only the bristles rotate. The back of the toothbrush doesn’t move, so you can’t bump your mouth whilst brushing.

The various settings ensure your mouth remains healthy and your teeth nice and bright! If you are looking for a decent starter electric toothbrush for your children – the Flexforce Sonic Toothbrush is a good bet, this is priced at £17.99 and has a two-minute timer, to ensure kids are brushing for the recommended amount of time!

Floss once a day

Flossing is really important to get rid of those trapped particles of food that can otherwise linger and cause bad smells and lead to decay. If you can’t get along with traditional floss, try the individual floss sticks. For those of you with larger gaps that find flossing pointless or anyone that just can’t get along with dental floss, you can try the small interdental brushes that come in a range of sizes. These give a very satisfying deep clean between each tooth and can help to contribute to overall improvements in oral health.

Drink water

We all know this but I’m adding it in as a reminder anyway because although we all know this, we don’t do enough of it! Water is so much better for our teeth than sugary drinks, fruit juices and tea and coffee, so take this as your cue to get a glass and drink it!

Keep aligners/retainers clean

If you wear a night time retainer, or use removable aligners or have braces, do remember to keep them clean. Make sure you are using the recommended cleaning product for them and not putting them back into your mouth until they are clean.

See a dentist when you can

I know it’s tricky getting appointments at the moment still (some areas seem better than others on this front) – here, we are still struggling to get appointments as they are still working through such a back log and a few places have actually closed down. Persevere and get to the dentist when you can. If you’re in dire need of one, we recommend you check out this dentist in ballwin for your oral care needs.

Limit sugary foods

Don’t jeopardise your teeth by having lots of sugary snacks, especially between meals. Think about the foods that will help to nourish your oral health and your teeth like: milk, yoghurt, whole grains and nuts.

Change your toothbrush

Hands up if you are guilty of not changing your toothbrush frequently enough? Even if you don’t want to shell out on a fancy electric toothbrush, make sure you are at least changing your toothbrush before it looks like you’ve scrubbed the toilet with it! Don’t wait until the bristles are coming off in your mouth either. Why not bulk buy toothbrushes, so you always have spares in?