Managing your oral health often feels time-consuming, costly, and just overwhelming. It can be expensive too, especially if you’ve been ignoring it for quite some time.
Aren’t there some simple and natural ways to maintain good dental health, however? Aren’t there certain easy steps to take that can solve most of these issues? “Stuff your dentist won’t tell you about” sort of tricks?
Well, we wouldn’t say your dentist wouldn’t tell you about these as dentists tend to be pretty upfront about the things we need to do to stay healthy. However, there are indeed a lot of natural tips and tricks people ignore or don’t talk about enough.
So, below we’ll cover the 15 vital steps for how to strengthen your teeth and gums naturally.
How to Strengthen Your Teeth and Gums Naturally?
Some of these are things you may outright scoff at. Especially the first half of this list is full of things we’ve heard quite often. Yet, even they are things most of us either don’t do properly or often don’t do at all.
As the list goes on, however, you’ll also see not only things your dentist has been telling you ad nauseam but also some extra tips you may not have heard before. Let’s see how can you strengthen your teeth and gums naturally right now.
1. Regular brushing
The king of all oral health tips is to just brush your teeth regularly and properly. Some folks may not consider this a “natural” tip as toothpaste doesn’t exactly grow on trees but brushing your teeth with good fluoride toothpaste is such a time-tested and proven solution to most dental issues that it can’t be ignored.
It needs to be done properly and regularly, however, if you want it to be effective at preventing bacteria and plaque buildup, the development of cavities, gum diseases, and tooth decay, and all other dental issues. This means:
- Brushing at least twice a day
- Brushing for at least two minutes at a time
- Not brushing immediately after eating
- Using quality toothpaste and a good soft toothbrush
- Making sure you reach all parts of your teeth and gumline
- Not brushing too forcefully as you don’t want to harm the tooth enamel
- Employing a good brushing technique – circular motions, 45o angles, etc.
2. Floss twice a day too
Not only are a lot of people only brushing their teeth once a day, many skip flossing altogether. We get that flossing is hardly a pleasant activity, plus it’s quite time-consuming too. However, doing this at least once every day does wonders for our oral health as it removes a lot of food particles from the tight spaces between our teeth that a toothbrush often just can’t reach.
3. Don’t ignore the need for a good mouthwash
The other often-ignored part of good dental hygiene is mouthwash. Many people dislike mouthwashes because they don’t taste great to many of us and some even complain that they hurt their gums. There are many types of dental mouthwash out there, however, including a lot of natural ones that work great and aren’t hard on our gums. Finding the right one for you can be invaluable for your dental health.
4. Regular rinsing is the unsung hero of good oral hygiene
Dental solutions don’t get more natural than simply rinsing with water. This can sound silly at first but we’re not just talking about rinsing after brushing – we’re talking about rinsing with water after eating throughout the day too. This easy natural solution washes away most food debris from our mouths instead of leaving them lodged between our teeth and into our gum tissue for hours at a time.
5. Quit or drastically reduce smoking
Another perfectly “natural” solution is to simply reduce the amount of unnatural and harmful things we put in our mouths and near our teeth. Tobacco products are the go-to example for that as they are disastrously harmful to our dental health and should, at the very least, be taken into moderation if not stopped altogether.
6. Similarly, quit or drastically reduce the coffees you drink
Coffee is a lot of people’s morning beverage of choice. And, while it’s not as overall harmful as tobacco, it’s still not great for our teeth, especially not if you take it with a lot of sugar. So, limiting it to as much as you can and rinsing your mouth after drinking is quite beneficial.
7. Sugar really isn’t your teeth’s friend
Speaking of sugar, this delicious white substance is as unhealthy as it is sweet. Cutting it out of your diet is good for way more than just your dental health too.
8. Fix your diet
Nutrition and oral health are very closely linked as we know well and as the American Dental Association (ADA) has often written about. For one, fixing your diet prevents and slows down issues such as heart disease and diabetes that are not only horrible in and of themselves but also greatly affect our dental health.
So, while we’ll give more specific dietary tips below, doing the bare minimum to get your physical health into shape will be incredibly beneficial for your oral health too. And there’s nothing more “natural” than just eating right.
9. Regular physical exercise is great for your teeth
Similarly, maintaining a good fitness level is proven to be extremely beneficial for your oral health. The reason is the same as above – our teeth and gums are part of our body and having good blood sugar levels, a strong immune system, proper vitamin and mineral absorption, and so on affects our gum and tooth health.
10. Limit the carb snacks throughout the day
There are a lot of positive and negative things that can be said about carbs. We’re not going to get into that discussion right now but limiting carb snacks in between meals can be important for your dental health as leftover carb snack particles are especially great breeding ground for bacteria throughout the day.
11. Stay properly hydrated at all times
Water is clearly as natural as it is beneficial for our bodies and staying hydrated is crucial for our mouth and gum health. Plus, there is also the auxiliary benefit of “rinsing” your mouth just by drinking water regularly.
12. Try oil pulling
Something more akin to a “health trick” is oil pulling. This is effectively a method of rinsing your mouth with oils the way you’d do with water or with mouthwash for a longer period of time, usually 15-20 minutes. The benefit of doing this with something like coconut oil, tea tree oil, or almost any type of vegetable oil is that it removes many bacteria from your mouth and prevents further plaque buildup in the short term.
13. Clean your tongue too
Another thing to do, especially while brushing your teeth, is to clean your tongue too. While that organ rarely has health issues itself, it can be a great breeding ground for bacteria that can affect your gums and teeth.
14. Focus on vitamin-rich and mineral-rich foods in particular
Eating well is one thing but, if we want to maintain good oral health we should be extra mindful of eating mineral-rich and vitamin-rich foods on a daily basis. This includes foods that have an abundance of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin D, A, E, and K2 as well as minerals such as calcium and phosphorus.
Some prime examples of such foods include but are not limited to eggs, grass-fed meats and poultry birds, carrots, nuts, organic bone broth, mushrooms, Himalayan salt, soft cheeses, citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits, dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach, broccoli, and celery, almonds, apples, dairy products, and others.
Focusing on such foods is key for the remineralization of your teeth as well as the overall good health of your body.
15. Take care of your stomach and gut health
Making sure your gut and stomach work properly by eating more fibre and probiotics is essential for your overall health as well as for your teeth. This is especially the case because it guarantees proper vitamin and mineral absorption. Without good gut health, it almost doesn’t matter how much minerals and vitamins you eat as they won’t get into your system.
16. Remember to visit your dentist regularly even when you feel perfectly fine
Whatever we choose to do, regular dental checkups simply remain a key part of any good oral hygiene routine. If you want to prevent issues such as gingivitis or periodontitis, bi-annually trips to the dentist should become as “natural” to you as exercise or drinking lots of water.
In Conclusion
We would love to tell you that there are some other secret natural remedies out there that just instantly solve all our dental issues. Maybe a special herb that only ancient mystics know about because the modern dentistry industry is trying to hide it.
The closest thing to something like that, however, is to just maintain a good diet, make sure it includes the proper vitamins and minerals, and then be certain that you maintain a good oral hygiene – that’s really all it takes.
