DOING THE “DAILY 4”

Shailja Ensor | October 2016

The kids are back in school, schedules are set, so it’s a good time to review your dental hygiene practices and make sure you have a solid routine for good oral health. Are you doing the “Daily 4”?

The focus of National Dental Hygiene Month this year centers around the four components of good oral health maintenance:

1. brushing teeth twice daily
2. flossing every day
3. rinsing with antimicrobial mouth rinse
4. chewing sugar-free gum, for those who chew gum

Dental hygienists are encouraged to remind patients to “Do the daily 4”.

By integrating good oral health care habits into your daily routine benefits not just your oral health, but also contributes to improved overall health. During regular dental check ups, your mouth provides a gateway for dental professionals to assess more than the health of your teeth and gums. Bacteria that builds up on teeth make gums prone to infection. The immune system moves in to attack the infection and the gums become inflamed. The inflammation continues unless the infection is brought under control. The body and the mouth are not separate. Your body can affect your mouth and your mouth can affect your body.

For the seventh straight year, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) and the Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program are proud to sponsor National Dental Hygiene Month (NDHM). Our dental hygienists work hard to clean your teeth, removing tartar, stains and plaque. They also apply sealants and fluorides to help protect teeth, take and develop dental x-rays, assess patients’ oral health and report those findings to our dentists. They are also responsible for documenting patient care. Most importantly, a big part of our hygienists’ job is to educate patients about oral hygiene techniques.

Take care of your mouth by doing the “Daily 4” and during your next check up, remember to thank your hygienist. They are an important part of, not only good oral health but, your overall health as well.