It’s that time of the year again—I know, we can’t believe it either! A brand-new year is just around the corner, and you know what that means…a new opportunity for a fresh start. As your favorite Hollywood family dentist, we hope this new year is your healthiest and happiest yet. To help you start off strong, we’ve put together a little list of New Year’s resolution ideas that we know will support a healthy mouth and a brilliant smile.
I Will Enjoy a Professional Teeth Cleaning at Least Twice a Year (at Parker Dentistry in Hollywood, Florida)
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One of the best preventative oral health measures you can take is to stay committed and consistent with your biannual professional teeth cleanings and check-ups. While regularly brushing and flossing, limiting sugary drinks and food, and drinking plenty of water are all important practices, only a professional hygienist and dentist, like at our family dental practice in Hollywood, can really get in there and remove tartar and plaque build-up, identify cavities and early signs of gum disease, polish your teeth, and address any underlying oral health-related issues.
We are strong advocates of proactive and preventative healthcare, and this New Year’s resolution is our top recommendation!
I Will Learn to Love Flossing
You can’t fool us; we know who has been flossing and who hasn’t been!
Each tooth has five surfaces, and if you don’t floss, you are basically leaving at least two surfaced unclean. Flossing is the only way to get between teeth and remove sticky bacteria or plaque. Plaque produces acid, leading to cavities, gum irritation, and gum disease. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), only 30% of you floss daily, and 37% of you never floss. To help prevent cavities, gingivitis, bad breath, gum and bone deterioration, potential tooth loss, and periodontal disease, make 2022 the year you fall in love with flossing!
I Will End My Love Affair with Sugary Drinks
Sugar-sweetened drinks are the leading source of sugar consumption in the United States. Regularly sipping sugary drinks is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart, liver, and kidney disease, tooth decay, cavities, gout, and arthritis. Over 50% of adults drink at least one sugary drink every single day. Our love affair with sugar drinks (and food) has led us to an average yearly consumption of 57 pounds of added sugar every year.
It’s almost 2022, people; enough is enough! It is time to break up with sugar!
I Will Say No to Artificial Ingredients in My Food
What goes in your mouth affects not only your oral health but your entire body’s health. There are zero health benefits (and plenty of health consequences) associated with preservatives, additives, and artificial flavorings that lace our packaged foods. While there are all sorts of different diets, the best diet is the one that includes only real food. In other words, food that comes from the earth, not the lab. A good real of thumb is if you can’t pronounce or have no idea what an ingredient is, you probably should try and avoid it. Most of your diet should be fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and lean protein (more plant than animal).
For full-body health, your diet is one of the most important influences.
I Will Quit Smoking
Maybe you’ve never tried or have tried a hundred times; 2022 is a perfect year to try for the first time or again. As you are very aware, smoking is terrible for your teeth and gums (and everything and everyone else). If there is one thing you can do this year to vastly improve your present and future health, quit smoking. We know you can do it!
Well, there you have it! Feeling inspired, and ready to have the healthiest mouth this year? We sure are!
What are some of your other New Year's resolutions?