With the COVID-19 pandemic still on the rise, we have followed recommendations from the ADA and NC state dental boards in choosing to temporarily close the office, while staying open for emergency treatment only. The ADA put out a guide on what is considered a dental emergency.
While we are at home, we wanted to share some recommended activities for you to help keep your teeth healthy and clean.
DO
- Maintain and/or establish good dental habits. Flossing, for example, is just a habit. You are not a bad person for not flossing, but it does provide many oral health benefits. If you can establish that simple habit now with more time in your day, it will be easier to carry over when you get back into the routine of normal activities.
- Rinse your mouth daily with mouthwash. It will not only help keep the plaque levels down, but it will kill also off most harmful bacteria, keeping you healthier in general.
- Try to keep a positive mindset about everything occurring. When stressed, more cortisol is released and is not only detrimental to overall immune system function, but also has negative effects on your gum health.
DON’T
- Go to the emergency room for an issue with your teeth. We will be available for all emergencies in our office and want to avoid you having to make an ER run. They have limited supplies and we don’t want you to have to take any risks going to a busy hospital. The only exception would be if you have a swelling that is making it difficult to breathe, swallow, or is causing a life-threatening situation.
- Get into the habit of heavy snacking and consuming sugary foods and drinks. It will be easy to find ourselves snacking more frequently and not eating healthier foods while we are stuck inside the house. If you remember from our most recent cavity blog, frequent snacking and sugary foods/drinks can lead to increased decay.
We hope these few tips help you during this quarantine. We look forward to seeing each one of your smiling faces again in our office! Until then, please call us with questions or reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram!