How to keep your smile shining

Tags

avoid, bad breath, bright, care, coffee, dental tape, dentin, dentist, discoloration, don’t smoke, enamel, essential part, expose, floss, fluoride toothpaste, food, goodness, gum disease, gums to recede, hard-to-reach areas, health and wellbeing, healthy, help, identify problems, inflamed, kits, limit, lower layer, meal times, mouth cancer, mouthwash, overbrush, poor oral health, professional teeth whitening treatments, questions, Red wine, remove, residual fluoride, sensitivity, shiny, sip, six monthly check-ups, slide, smoke, smoking, special toothpaste, specialist cleaning, spit out, stained, sticky residue, sugar intake, sugary foods, sugary foods and drinks, tea, teeth twice a day, tooth decay, trapped, treatment, twice a day, uncomfortable, uncomfortable bloating, wash away, water, whiten, yellow tone

A bright, healthy-looking smile can make a great first impression and also improves your self-confidence and overall mood.

While we all do out best to look after our teeth, they can easily become stained as a result of smoking, poor oral hygiene, and consuming certain sugary foods and drinks like tea, coffee, and red wine.

We have had a look at how can look after your teeth and ensure your smile shines the way you know it can.

Brush your teeth twice a day, everyday
Brushing your teeth for two minutes, twice a day with a good quality fluoride toothpaste will help to remove the problem plaque that can cause bad breath, tooth decay, gum disease, and discolouration. Brush your teeth in a circular motion, paying attention to each tooth on all sides. Once you have finished, spit out any toothpaste residue, but don’t rinse your mouth with water or mouthwash as this will wash away the goodness of the fluoride in your toothpaste.

Don’t overbrush
Yes, brushing is an essential part of taking care of your teeth, but you need to make sure you do not overbrush as this can harm your enamel and expose the lower layers of your teeth, known as dentin. It is dentin that has a yellow tone, and it is impossible to whiten even with special toothpaste or professional teeth whitening treatments and kits. Brushing too hard can also cause your gums to recede which can make your teeth look longer, lead to increased sensitivity and, in extreme cases, tooth loss. These are things you all want to avoid, so if you have any questions about brushing, ask your dentist and they will be happy to help.

Floss, floss, floss
Remember to floss between your teeth at least once or twice a day as this can help prevent gums becoming inflamed, uncomfortable or bleeding when you brush. Use a clean section of floss or dental tape per tooth, slide it in between the teeth, and gently move it up and down to remove trapped food particles.

Use mouthwash in the morning
Mouthwash helps to kill bacteria, even in hard-to-reach areas. Use a mouthwash at least once a day, but not immediately after brushing, as this will wash away the residual fluoride from your toothpaste that helps keep teeth healthy.

Avoid sugary foods and drinks
It is a good idea to try to limit your sugar intake as much as possible for the sake of your teeth, as well as your overall health and wellbeing. If you do have it, eat it at meal times and sip plenty of water to help wash away some of the sticky residue sugar leaves behind.

Don’t smoke
Smoking can lead to bad breath, gum disease, mouth cancer, and tooth discolouration, so give it up, today and you will be so pleased you did.

Go to the dentist
It is vital that you have regular, six monthly check-ups at the dentist. Your dentist can identify problems in their early stages and advise on appropriate treatment so that your teeth and gums remain in excellent condition. Also see the hygienist as their specialist cleaning and care helps to keep your teeth, gums and mouth healthy, and your smile bright and shiny.

Team Pure Beauty

How to look after your contact lenses

Tags

aggravation, blinking, bowl, case, cataract surgery, cleaning fluids, cleaning solution, contact lens wearing, contact lenses, daily lenses, daunting, eye health, eye make up, eyelashes, fingers, gently, glassses, healthy, hold, hospital, hurt, index finger, infection, inside out, irritation, keep a steady hand, light, lower eyelid, mix, nervous, optician, pain, predicament, prevent infection, public places, redness, regular basis, repeat, safe routine, sleep, sleep wake, slide, squeeze, story, swap, swimming, tap water, thumb, uncomfortable, upper eyelid, vision loss, wake, walk away, wash and dry your hands

A recent story to hit the headlines was about a woman who was found to have 27, yes 27, contact lenses stuck in her eye. Ouch!

The 67 year was scheduled for cataract surgery but instead, a blue mass of lenses was pulled from her eye, unlike anything the hospital had seen before.

While this was an extreme case, it highlights the need for care to be taken when putting in and taking out lenses and for wearers to ensure they have a healthy, safe routine to ensure their eyes are well cared for.

To make sure you don’t end up in the same predicament, we have put together some top tips to help you get contact lens wearing right.

Seems so obvious, but always make sure you wash and dry your hands thoroughly before putting anything into your eyes or removing from them.

Try not to be nervous. Putting contact lenses in and taking them out might seem daunting but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty easy so take your time. The key to success is to keep a steady hand and if it doesn’t work first time, walk away and try later.

Before you put a lens in, make sure it isn’t inside out. To check this, place the clean lens on your finger tip and hold it up to the light. If it is the right way round it should look like a bowl but if the edges flare out, it’s inside out and needs to be adjusted.

To put the lens into your eye, hold your upper eyelid with one finger and then gently pull down your lower eyelid with your other fingers. This will stop you blinking and will stop your eyelashes getting in the way.

To take your lenses out, simply look up and carefully pull your lower eyelid down using your middle finger. Gently put your index finger to your eye and when you touch the lower edge of the lens, slide it down to the lower white area of your eye – note that this should not hurt. Finally squeeze the lens, very gently, between your thumb and index finger and finally take it out. Repeat on the other eye.

At this point, daily lenses can be thrown away, otherwise clean bi-weekly and monthly lenses as advised.

Remember, never use tap water to clean your lenses or their case. Use the recommend cleaning solution and following the instructions to the word.

Whatever is happening in your life, only wear your lenses for the time specified and don’t ever sleep in them or you will wake up feeling very uncomfortable.

As well as replacing your lenses to prevent infection, it is also important to use new cases and cleaning fluids on a regular basis.

We suggest that you don’t apply your eye make-up before putting contact lenses in, as this can sometimes cause aggravation and infection.

Contact lenses and swimming are not a good mix, so swap for glasses at the pool but make sure you take the same care taking them in and out as public places are full of bacteria and germs.

If there are any signs of pain, irritation, redness or vision loss, get in touch with your optician ASAP.

On this note, it is important to have regular checks with your optician so they can check on your eye health and ensure you are using the right lenses for you.

Team Pure Beauty