Dental Goals

If you’ve had trouble keeping up with your dental health in the past, setting some dental goals for 2023 could ensure that you’ll have a beautiful, dazzling smile by the end of next year. As far as New Year’s Resolutions go, we feel that dental resolutions are some of the best resolutions you can make for yourself! For example, you could set a goal to floss daily, or even every other day in order to start getting used to a healthy flossing routine. Or, if you’ve been putting off that root canal for a long time now, you can resolve to finally go to the dentist and get that over and done with!

When setting dental goals for yourself, consider the reasons why these particular goals are important to you. Do you want to achieve a healthier, whiter smile in order to increase your chances of finding the love of your life? Do you want to stop grinding your teeth down to little nubs, and finally invest in a much-needed mouthguard? The point of setting goals is to maintain your motivation so that you can keep working hard to achieve something you really want. Here at Times Square Dental — your dentist in Boise — we believe setting goals is an important part of maintaining your dental health. Feel free to talk with us about your goals for the new year, and we’ll help you come up with ways to stay on the right track!

Brush Your Teeth Twice a Day

Your initial dental goal could be as simple as brushing twice daily. You’d be surprised how difficult this routine is to get into for many people, especially those dealing with mental health issues and extremely busy work schedules. When it comes to maintaining your oral health, brushing twice a day is definitely a good place to start. Set two timers for yourself each day — one in the morning and one at night — to ensure that you are keeping up with brushing efficiently.

If you occasionally forget to brush twice a day, don’t beat yourself up. Things like getting up a little earlier in the morning and making teeth brushing part of your nightly routine can make it easier for you to remember to brush twice a day. If you continue to have trouble, it might be wise to speak openly with your dentist or hygienist about what you can do to achieve this particular goal. At Times Square Dental, we teach patients all about the proper brushing and flossing techniques. You are not born knowing how to brush and floss, so don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Floss Daily

This is a big one for a lot of dental patients. If your New Year’s Resolution is to start flossing daily and you actually manage to go through with it, you deserve a round of applause in our book! We know flossing can be irritating and not all that comfortable either, especially if your gums bleed a lot. We promise the bleeding will occur less frequently the more you floss, and that you’ll get faster at flossing over time as well.

Ensuring that you’re able to achieve your goal of flossing daily should be relatively easy. Make sure you have enough time to properly floss after each brushing session and don’t forget to floss your back teeth as well! For hard-to-reach spots, you can use a hand-held flosser, which can make things significantly easier. Here’s another hot tip: when you floss, make sure you are wrapping the string around your middle finger on each hand rather than wrapping it around each of your pointer fingers. This will ensure that you’ll have more control over the dental floss.

Go to Your Dental Checkups

Too many people, especially college kids who have moved away from their parents for the first time, neglect or forget to schedule their bi-annual dental checkups. Granted, it can be hard to remember to schedule these appointments if you’re busy with schoolwork and a brand-new social life. However, if you can set a goal for yourself to at least schedule the necessary bi-annual dental checkups, you surely won’t regret it! Also, not that it really matters, but your parents will be so proud of you for being proactive in taking care of your dental health.

It’s also easy to fall out of routine when you’re going through a lot of life changes or coping with various mental health issues. Maybe you’re going through a tough financial situation right now and you feel like you can’t afford to go to the dentist. Thankfully, Times Square Dental offers plenty of payment options for our patients who aren’t able to pay for their dental appointments right away. This should take some of the stress out of going to the dentist for those who have been unexpectedly hit with hard times.

Avoid Certain Foods and Drinks

Sugary foods that get stuck in your teeth like caramel candies and sour gummy worms can cause more damage than most people realize. The sugar tends to cling to your teeth, which can lead to problems like tooth decay. This is especially true for drinks like soda and sweet tea. If you think about it, when you drink a can of sugar, you are essentially pouring almost 40 grams of sugar directly onto your delicate teeth. You can set a goal for yourself to avoid soda altogether, or make the switch to sugar-free soda, which many people find to be tastier anyway.

If you chew a lot of gum, try switching to sugar-free gum for the start of the new year. The American Dental Association advocates for Bazooka Sugar Free Bubblegum, which is supposed to prevent cavities if you chew it for up to 20 minutes after you eat. Chewing sugar-free gum can actually activate the flow of your saliva and make your teeth stronger. Pretty cool, right?

Final Thoughts

No matter what you want your dental goals to be for 2023, remember you can always talk to your dentist or hygienist if you need help maintaining these goals! Contact Times Square Dental today for a consultation.