How are those resolutions faring at this stage?

Even if some of your other New Year’s resolutions have been broken at this stage, don’t give up on your dental care regime.

According to the experts (whoever they might be), over 90% of us have given up on our New Year’s resolutions already. And it’s not hard to see why.

We tend to go mad when we make resolutions, vowing to lose weight, give us the fags, take up painting – all at the same time. It’s an absolute recipe for disaster.

Those self-same experts tell us that we have a better chance of staying on the straight and narrow if we make just one resolution – and more to the point, if we break the resolution into small, manageable chunks.

If you wanted to lose weight, for example, you should break this into mini-tasks like walking four times a week, giving up fried food, drinking lots of water etc.

So what about my dental care regime?

If we apply this same principle to resolving to look after our teeth a tad better in the New Year, it would help if we broke it into the following steps, each making its own contribution to our overall success:

• Brushing your teeth is the simplest step you can possibly take when it comes to looking after your teeth, Ideally, you should brush after every meal, but this isn’t always practical when you’re out and about. At a minimum, however, you should brush in the morning (after breakfast) and last thing at night.

• Don’t skimp on replacing your toothbrush. As soon as the bristles start to show signs of wear and tear, it’s time to throw it out and get another. And if you’ve had a serious infection – such as a strep throat – it might be wise to replace your toothbrush afterwards as otherwise, you run the risk of re-infecting yourself. You should also consider having a separate toothbrush in the office, so you can have a quick brush after lunch.

• If you’re going to use a mouthwash, don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s all about freshening up your breath. You should look for a product that actively fights bacteria, as this is the only long-term approach to controlling slightly iffy breath.

• Many of us get hunger pangs after a number of hours, but you’d be doing yourself a huge favour if you tackled it with fruit rather than chocolate or crisps. Crisps are particularly hard on your teeth, as they tend to hide in all those small gaps between your teeth, and they can stay there doing damage until you brush again – potentially many hours later.

• As well as brushing, you need to either floss or use an interdental brush on a regular basis. This is essential for getting at those gaps between your teeth and prevents the build-up of bacteria by getting rid of the food on which it thrives.

• Keep an eye on the clock when brushing. You should stick at it for around two minutes, but very few of us have a real idea of how long this is. So use a stopwatch for a full week when brushing, and get used to giving enough time to the task.

Will this solve all your dental problems?

The answer to this question is that it will address MOST of the normal problems like cavities, gum disease etc.

Yu might still need treatment such as wisdom teeth removal, for example, as this is pretty much a condition that you’re born with – and that takes a number of years to manifest it.

When wisdom teeth symptoms appear, no amount of brusing your teeth will sort it, but it’s nice to know that all of those other expensive treatments will be kept off your radar with a good dental health regime.

It’s a fantastic resolution to make – regardless of how many other you may have broken. So go on, resolve once again to look after your teeth. They’ll last you a lifetime if you do!

One last thought before we go. We get a lot of people coming into the surgery at this time of year looking to improve their appearance by having their teeth whitened. If you’re considering this, you might like to check out the Irish Dental Council for some guidance on this topic – http://www.dentalcouncil.ie/toothwhitening.php