The 5 Best Oral Care Products

Keeping your mouth healthy requires more than one cleaning every six months. Even if you regularly focus on your oral care, a good toothbrush and toothpaste along with a dedicated flossing routine is just the foundation of oral health. Here are five of the best oral care products you may not know you need.

Gum Therapy
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on how you look at it), gum disease is often painless, so its advance can go undetected for some time. Your family dentist may offer a procedure called scaling and root planning to help reverse the damage done by gum - or periodontal - disease. During this procedure, your hygienist will clean between teeth and gums down to the root, so you may need anesthetic. Since it’s a non-surgical intervention, it’s a good step to try first.

Save a Tooth
Getting a tooth knocked out is hardly a run-of-the-mill occurrence, but should it happen to you, Save-A-Tooth gives it the best chance of being re-implanted successfully. Especially if you live with young children, who’s rough and tumble ways heighten the chances of this happening, having Save-A-Tooth on hand can reduce the dental costs associated with getting a false tooth by upping the chances that the real one survives.

Bridges
Missing a tooth can cause problems speaking and eating, as well as jaw strain when your mouth has to work too hard to compensate for the missing tooth. Bridges correct tooth gaps by attaching to the teeth on either side and filling them with sturdy, natural-looking teeth. Bridges improve the health of surrounding teeth and jaws, and since only a dentist can remove them, they won’t fall out.

Flouride Gel
Akin to the fluoride treatments you receive at the dentist’s office, brush-on fluoride gel allows you to give your teeth the same anti-cavity protection at home. It is intended for use after you brush your teeth, and not as a toothpaste replacement. Ask your hygienist for home fluoride options at your next visit.

Invisalign Braces
Straight teeth result in more than a pretty smile; they also reduce the chances of tooth decay and loss, gum disease and jaw problems, among others. When you’re older, however, few things sound less appealing than a mouth full of metal, especially if you work with professionals. Instead, try Invisalign, which straightens your teeth without people knowing. While targeted cleaning and flossing do help, dentists recommend straightening teeth when possible.