My deplorable oral hygiene

Get up two minutes earlier and brush your teeth in the morning.

Go to bed two minutes later and brush your teeth at night.

Problem solved.

Seriously, all of your oral hygiene issues can probably be fixed by just forcing yourself to develop the habit of brushing your teeth regularly. It doesn't have to be an elaborate grooming ritual or anything, but it's kind of important.

My favorite way to brush my teeth and save time is to do it in the shower.

 

You need to brush your teeth. They are your teeth. Nobody else is going to be hurt when you lose them. Only you. Wake up earlier and go to bed later so you have time to brush. It only takes a minute or two. You also need to see a dentist. You can make all the excuses you want for why you don’t brush but those excuses will do nothing to protect your teeth.

 

Make time to brush your teeth. 2 minutes when you get up and 2 minutes before you go to bed is no time at all. If you don't have time in the morning, get up 2 minutes earlier. If you never feel like doing anything at night after doing schoolwork, brush your teeth before you start the schoolwork.

The small amount of time that you spend doing this will save you a lot of time and displeasure later on in life.

 

Other then what the people above have already advised you to do, go to the dentist and get them bleached, the procedure doesn't even take an hour and you will feel much better afterwards trust me. If you have sensitive gums which bleed when you brush them then go get some Sensodyne for fucks sake because that is not an excuse to not brush your teeth. How can you not make time for brushing teeth?? They are your teeth and nobody is going to clean them for you, ever.

 

You know mentally that you need to brush your teeth, but somehow that knowledge and the actual act just don't cone together. I've been similar at points although nowhere near as bad, but what I did to get myself into the habit was to make a table about my teeth cleaning on my bathroom mirror. Anywhere you see it lots will help. You can write on a mirror in whiteboard marker without any problems or permanent staining. You give yourself a tick every time, you've cleaned your teeth until you have a tick everyday morning and night. Keep the table up once you've achieved that and go for two weeks, then more and more, until it becomes part of your daily ritual. I'd give you a picture, but I'm on my phone and not at home.

One question, is the water in your area fluoridated? If not, talk to your dentist about it as fluoride protects your teeth and you can take it in pill form. Even if it isn't, drink water (preferably tap water) over everything else. Water washes out your mouth and helps keep a neutral pH, which is another factor in tooth decay.

 

Grow the fuck up and brush them It is not rocket science, if there really bad go to your denest and get a profestional clean ( which will get them to a standard for you to start mainaining it and it will also show you the crap that has built up then mantain it your self) after that JFDI (just fucking do it) and clean them because bad teeth gets you know were and is a major turn off.

 

WHat should I do??

Ermm... Brush your teeth?? lol

If you don't have time get mouth wash, and whitening gum atleast its more convenient.

 

Why is everyone being so rude? :/ This isn't the "Be an asshole" board, he's asking for help. Help him, or don't post. Jeez. :| I no longer have any respect for people being rude in this thread. What if I posted in one of your threads saying, "Jeez, grow some common sense a fucking google, lazy kid. Grow up." Yeah, you wouldn't like it. So shut up.

Anyways, brushing your teeth will help. However, remember to use mouth wash and floss. I used to do what you're doing now. You know what made me adapt a better habit? Getting my molar ripped out when the Novocain was blocked because of the infection. 5 nurses and my mom had to hold me down. :|

My point is, just think about the bad things that will happen. Like..what I just said.

Also, slowly adapting to a new habit is a good idea. People don't really do good with sudden change, and in your condition more than likely if you go to a normal schedule like everyone else you might damage your weak gums.

Just start brushing in the morning, or at night. Then after that becomes habit, do more and when those become habits do more. That's what I had to do.

Also, white teeth aren't always healthy teeth. Stained teeth aren't always unhealthy teeth. Don't pay attention to the color. When you adapt a healthy habit and you've stuck to it, get a whitening kit. I know a lot of dentist offices offer free whitening if you go there. They'll give you a bleaching kit and everything. I had to do that, but I don't like to because I have one really sensitive tooth, and putting bleach on it makes it hurt for days.

 

Guys- while Health & Well-being is not labeled as a "no-flame zone", we do have the policy that there are no stupid questions in this forum. Be polite. If you can't be polite, then don't say anything.

When we do physical exams, we do look at teeth. But teeth can be fixed. Gums are much harder to fix. You should brush your teeth, brush your gums, brush/scrape your tongue and when possible, floss. You should do this after meals and before bedtime. It's important.

One thing that you discover is that anything that is close to your brain is important- eyes, sinuses, ears and your mouth. Infections in these areas can make you very sick.

If you don't take care of your gums and your mouth, you will get very sick. Make the time- even if that means you take the toothpaste and toothbrush in your backpack, brush while you're walking to school or waiting for the bus or doing homework.

 

This happens to me too. The thing is you don't have to brush your teeth just before going to bed. Brush them earlier, any time after you eat dinner. Whenever you can squeeze in a 3 minute break in your homework.
Even if you end up eating another snack after brushing, that's ok. It's much better than not brushing at all.

 

If your gums are bleeding you might have gingivitis, using mouth wash will help kill the bacteria and hopefully help.

I suggest going to the dentist and getting them cleaned. i didn't go to the dentist for almost 6 years (because in the UK i was classed as a "traveller" and couldn't find a permenant dentist to take me then when i came to the US i didn't have dental insurance) so my teeth were in need of a good cleaning. Once they were clean i found it easier to take care of them better.

Like others have said, make time for cleaning them twice a day and you should be fine

 

I will also say that there are many other small tricks that can help to have a better mouth hygiene such as eating an apple after dinner (and lunch if you wish too, and also it's nutritive), chewing no-sugar gum (it increases salivation which makes your mouth to be more resistant to bacteria by changing it's pH) and also smoking and sodas can cause yello teeth fairly quickly so stop smoking or drinking soda for a while

Hope this helps!! And if you can see a dentist, please do so!!

*disclaimer: This is not a substitute for brushing, those are things that will help with your vocal hygiene.

 

^ As long as you drink caffeine-free soda you will be fine though.

 

carry a toothbrush and some tooth paste with you when you go to school and brush there.

Mouthwash the heavy stuff that burns like hell, that'll take care of your gum problem but you have to do it twice a day

 

My dentist said that phosphates in coke (whether diet or not) contribute to calcium leaching from the body, which will affect both your teeth and bone calcium content, making them weaker. Don't know about other soft drinks.

So I wouldn't drink it at all, even if it is caffeine free or sugar free, because it will screw up your teeth in some way regardless.

 

I'm pretty sure the acid in soda lowers your body's PH and your body needs to leech calcium out of your body in order to raise the PH back up to a normal level. At least I heard this from one of my science teachers before. ?

So apparently it's not just caffeinated sodas...

- click

Anywho there's my input on sodas. I still drink them sometimes.

To fix your teeth you just need to force yourself to do it. Write a note if you cannot remember somewhere you will remember, like on your bed, or on the floor in your bathroom. It may be hard to remember now, but brushing your teeth is a habit. It takes an amount of time of repetition until it goes into your brain, and you'll remember when you forget. Brushing your teeth after breakfast in the morning, and before bed at night is a great way to start getting your teeth better. Flossing is something you should also get into the habit of doing - I need to do it more, braces make it very difficult though. When I floss with my wires taken out it only takes like 1-2 minutes. If you do this every day, brush and floss, your teeth will feel SO MUCH nicer and you will see a huge improvement. Also, sugars and candy (candy is sugar I guess), will rot your teeth away. Try to avoid eating so much sweets if you do. Or, at least try to brush your teeth pretty quickly after. Lastly, go to a dentist. Maybe get your teeth cleaned professionally and see if they have any tips as well.

Good luck! =]

 

The thing about mouthwash is that you need to use it about half an hour after you've cleaned your teeth for a number of reasons. Firstly, chlorhexidine is deactivated by the surfactants in your toothpaste, making it useless at killing the bacteria in your mouth. Secondly, after you've brushed your teeth, especially if you have gum disease, you'll have a whole lot of little cuts in your mouth, which bacteria can get into and get into your bloodstream. Unfortunately, the bacteria on your teeth can cause heart disease if they get into your bloodstream. Also be sure to use alcohol-free mouthwash. I can't remember the reason for it, but there was some research on it that I read somewhere.

Back to the OP, you just need some kind of strategy to get into the habit of cleaning your teeth. A couple of people have given suggestions here, but whatever works for you.

 

And by "very sick" I'm sure you mean bloodstream-infection-requiring-intravenous-antibiotics-and-hospitalization kind of "very sick"? I mean, that's the worst case scenario, but it can eventually happen to people who don't take care of their teeth?

 

Okay, well here's some other tips that i didn't see get posted...

Remember brushing your teeth is UP and DOWN motion. NOT left and right. I use to do left and right i had no idea for the longest time *facepalm*. Of course floss daily no matter what time it is and how pressed u are for time, health comes first!

I would almost say flossing is more effective than mouthwashes...of course...you must floss the correct way...which I can't really describe in words ><. Pretty much get a generous length of dental floss and tighten them around your fingers then go between the teeth and go in a slight circular motion (if there's that much gap/room) other wise its an in and out. Floss before brushing!

Also, brush GENTLY, i don't know how other people brush, but you're actually suppose to brush quite lightly, otherwise you risk damaging your teeth. I use ultra soft tooth brushes, since i find the rest waaaaay too hard.

As for the gums, I would get them checked by a dentist. But while waiting i suggest giving them a light massage and of course there's also the possible case of gingivitis...><