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Vitamin D is crucially important for good oral health. If you are deficient in this vitamin, it could increase your risk of tooth decay and gum disease. One of the first signs of a vitamin D deficiency is an increase in cavities and bleeding gums, which is why it’s critical not to ignore any problems with your dental health. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the importance of vitamin D for dental and overall health.

What Is Vitamin D and What Is Its Function?

Surprisingly, vitamin D isn’t a vitamin at all but is instead a group of hormones. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium efficiently, ensuring you have healthy teeth and bones. It prevents serious diseases like osteoporosis and Ricketts. If your vitamin D levels are low, your body can only absorb between 10 and 15% of the calcium in your diet. Having a healthy level of vitamin D can help protect heart health and your immune system responses, hormone regulation and even brain cell growth.

How to Get Enough Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is also known as the sunshine vitamin because one way to boost your levels is to sit in the sun for 15 minutes each day, ensuring your face and arms are exposed. Other good sources of vitamin D include milk, fish and eggs.

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth, it’s worth knowing that there are better times to indulge or to schedule your sugar hour. As a rule of thumb, it’s better for your teeth if you eat sweet treats immediately after a main meal or as part of the main meal. There’s a very good reason for this as every time you eat something sweet it stimulates oral bacteria that attack tooth enamel by producing acid. The more frequently you eat something sweet, the greater the time your teeth are exposed to these acids, and eventually, these acids cause such significant erosion it creates cavities. The secret is to minimise the time your teeth are exposed to acid and to make sure you can clean your teeth thoroughly afterwards.

However, here is another thing you may not have considered as it’s better to wait at least half an hour after eating before brushing your teeth. It takes at least this long for acidity levels in your mouth to normalise. If you brush your teeth too soon, you brush softened and weaker tooth enamel that is more easily damaged, even by a toothbrush. While you wait, rinse your mouth with plain water or chew on cheese. Cheese contains calcium and other helpful ingredients that strengthen teeth, and it stimulates saliva production, helping to normalise pH levels in your mouth more effectively.

Perhaps you’ve already made your New Year’s resolutions, but how about adding just one more? This year, resolve to improve your dental health as it’s easier than you think. It’s one resolution you will want to keep.

Brush Twice Daily and Floss Once-A-Day

Brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing once-a-day is simple, quick and effective for protecting your teeth against tooth decay and gum disease. When you don’t brush regularly, harmful bacteria quickly build up over your tooth surfaces. Only flossing can eliminate bacteria and food debris between teeth and below the gum line, just the areas where tooth decay and gum disease often begin.

Book Regular Dental Checkups

This is another super simple and effective tip as seeing a dentist twice yearly can help prevent any dental problems and allows us to treat any issues at a much earlier stage. When you come and see us regularly, we can monitor your oral health closely and can tailor your preventative dental care plan to address areas of concern.

Have Your Teeth Cleaned Professionally

When you book your dental checkup, don’t forget to schedule your hygiene appointment. Professionally cleaning your teeth removes all plaque and tartar buildup, allowing you to maintain a healthier and cleaner mouth, and a fresher, brighter smile.

Make sure your teeth are ready for the brand-new decade by kickstarting your oral care routine. Even a few simple changes can make all the difference to your dental health.

Cut Back on Sugar

We are not suggesting you cut out sugar entirely, but it’s worth cutting down. Next time you buy groceries, reduce the number of sugary treats. Swap out sugary juices and sodas for water and curb the urge for something sweet by chewing sugar-free gum.

Kick the Habit

Quitting smoking does take dedication, but it’s worth the effort. If you smoke, your risk of developing gum disease is twice as high compared with a non-smoker. You are also more at risk of other diseases including oral cancer and lung diseases. Enlist the help of family and friends to quit for good. Arrange some healthy activities to do that will distract to when the cravings kick in.

Choose Mouth Friendly Foods

In addition to cutting back on sugar, actively look to add healthy foods to your diet that will help strengthen teeth and gums. Dairy products are high in calcium and a particularly good for teeth. Fibrous foods like crunchy fruits and vegetables are also a good choice.

It’s not always easy to stick to New Year’s resolutions all the time, but if you fail one day don’t give up for good. Instead, just start again tomorrow.