Mental Health, Fashion and Lifestyle Blogger,Anita Ford

There’s nothing more beautiful than a person who is beautiful on the inside, but society often makes people feel self conscious if they’re not flawless on the outside. Your smile is the first thing people notice about you. Unfortunately,  most do not feel comfortable showing their teeth when they smile. Well, I want to change that! I want to show you how you can obtain a brighter smile. If you follow my advice, I hope that this will not only increase the health of your teeth (and your body in general), but I also hope that it will increase your self confidence and make you happier with your appearance.

Easy Ways To Obtain A Brighter Smile —

Brushing
I know what you are thinking – brushing is obvious and everyone (or at least most people) do it daily. While this is true, I also think that a lot of people are doing it wrong. The American Dental Association says to brush your teeth twice a day with a soft-bristled brush, which most people already do. The few parts that are essential and not being done by many are:

Make sure to replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months, at most. If the bristles are frayed, replace them sooner. You need to make sure your brush is not worn so that it can do the job correctly and in addition to that, you need to make sure a bunch of germs aren’t hanging out on your brush.

You need to brush your teeth two minutes, two times a day. Like I mentioned above, so many people are focused on getting in and out of the bathroom so quickly that they do not actually take the time to brush for the proper amount of time, or in the proper way. Do you even know the proper way to brush? The ADA says to brush your at a 45-degree angle to the gums. You need to gently move the brush back and forth in short strokes, ensuring that you brush the outer surfaces, inner surfaces, and chewing surfaces of the teeth.

Flossing
Oh, flossing. Everyone seems to hate flossing, but it is so essential! When you brush, you are doing a great job of removing build up on your teeth, but a lot of the time, you are missing the hard to get areas between your teeth. The only way to get to those areas is by flossing. The ADA says that “more than 500 bacterial species can be found in plaque; some are good and some are bad for your mouth. Together with food debris, water and other components, the plaque buildup around the teeth and on the gum line will contribute to disease in teeth and gums.” You want to make sure you remove the bad bacterial species from your mouth by flossing.

Regular Dental Cleanings

Now that you know how important properly brushing and flossing is, we are going to talk about getting your teeth cleaned.Metro Decatur Dental Group PC says that during a dental cleaning, they remove any tartar and plaque from your teeth, which helps prevent gum disease. Although teeth cleaning is a routine appointment, you may not realize how important it actually is for your total health. Your health starts at your mouth, so you need to make sure you are keeping it healthy and making that a priority. If you are in the Georgia area, Dr. Gary Simms with Metro Decatur Dental Group PC is here to help you keep your mouth healthy. Their office is located in Decatur, Georgia and they are committed to providing patients with a caring a comprehensive approach to oral health.

Whitening Products
If you are looking for a low budget option that works, try out white strips, a customized whitening tray, or another whitening product. Obviously, these products do not work better than getting something straight from the dentist, but they can definitely help significantly and are a good option when you are on a budget. There are many options out there to choose from, so my recommendation would be to browse the products, look at reviews of the items you are considering, and try a few of them out. Buzzfeed actually wrote this article reviewing teeth whiteners that you can buy on Amazon that is really interesting.

Strawberries

I know that eating strawberries is a strange thing to include, but strawberries can, in fact whiten your teeth. The great thing about choosing this option is because of the fact that strawberries are a natural food and you know exactly what you are putting into your body. Strawberries contain quite a bit of malic acid, which is a tooth whitening agent, but they also contain sugar, so make sure to always brush after eating them in order to protect your teeth. One tip that I have heard of is crushing up strawberries and mixing them with baking soda, in order to form a paste. You can brush your teeth with this paste and it should help to whiten them. You can always just eat the strawberries, too.

You are a beautiful prize! Always remember to smile! Happy Friday, loves!