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Maintaining Your Oral Health During Illness | Huntersville Restorative Dentist

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Sniffling, sneezing, and coughing. Being sick can make it more difficult to keep up with your daily routine. Don’t let your cold or flu become an excuse for overlooking your oral hygiene. In fact, when you’re sick it is essential that you continue to stick to your regular brushing and flossing routine. Here are a few tips to keep you on track and on your way to getting better.

Brush After Each Meal

When you’re sick, try maintaining a schedule of brushing your teeth shortly after each meal. Your mouth can be a prime location where bacteria breed. Being extra vigilant in your brushing routine is an excellent way to minimize the multiplication of germs and bacteria.

Be Selective with Cough Drops and Lozenges

Numerous brands of cough drops and throat lozenges contain sugar. In fact, many cough drops or lozenges are similar to candy. Candy, particularly sucking candy that lasts in your mouth for an extended period of time, can lead to tooth decay. Bacteria in your mouth feeds off sugar to create acids that damage your teeth. Consider looking for drops and lozenges that are sugar free, or those that do not include corn syrup and fructose.

Rinse Carefully

If you are vomiting, keeping your mouth clean is important. Stomach acids can damage your teeth. However, brushing right away will just cause you to rub the acids all over your teeth. Instead, rinse your mouth out with water or mouthwash and wait at least 20 minutes before reaching for the toothbrush.

Drink Plenty of Water

Staying hydrated is one of the keys to recovery. Drinking water is also an effective way to prevent dry mouth. Dry mouth can lead to decay and bad breath. Some medications you might be taking to relieve your cold or flu symptoms might dry out your mouth, so be sure to continue to drink water throughout the day.

Replace Your Brush

Once you have recovered from your illness, consider replacing your toothbrush. While it isn’t likely that you would cause yourself to get sick again, you may wish to err on the side of caution. The American Dental Association recommends that you regularly replace your toothbrush every three to four months.

When you are sick, make it a point to keep up with your oral health. Your medications or over-the-counter remedies can have an impact on your oral health. Watch out for sugar content in cough drops and throat lozenges, and stay hydrated with water to avoid dry mouth. Keeping your mouth healthy is the first step to keeping your entire body healthy.

For more oral health tips or to schedule a visit to our office, please contact our Huntersville, NC office.

Tate C. Langdon, DDS, PA of Huntersville, NC
Phone: (704) 875-0123
15329 Hodges Cir.
Huntersville, NC 28078

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Huntersville, NC Dentist

Dr. Tate Langdon and his staff are absolutely remarkable. Melinda and Lauren at the front desk always give a warm welcome right when you walk in the door. These ladies also, leave kind voicemails to remind you of your appointments. My hygienist Lauren is so attentive and helpful. Lauren always answers my questions and makes my teeth sparkle. Dr. Langdon is gentle, thorough, and will lead you in the right direction for dental care needs with integrity.

-Madolyn S.

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Dentist in Huntersville, NC

Office Hours

Monday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
Tuesday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
Wednesday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
Thursday: 7:00am – 4:00pm
Friday: Closed
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed

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15329 Hodges Circle
Huntersville, NC 28078

(704) 875-0123

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Dentist in Huntersville, NC

Dentist in Huntersville
15329 Hodges Circle
Huntersville, NC 29078

(704) 875-0123