You might have noticed that a person with a habit of smiling a lot with their teeth on full display is often more confident and liked than most people around them. Our brains are wired to respond positively to visual stimuli like perfect smiles; hence, people with great smiles are often perceived as more attractive too.
So how to get that dazzling movie star-esque smile? If that question has come up in your mind, this blog is meant for you. In this blog, we will discuss the course that qualifies you to be a dentist, and also 5 dental hygiene tips for a perfect smile recommended by both students in the best dental colleges in India and practicing dentists worldwide.
What Makes a Dentist a Dentist?
It makes sense to know how one becomes a dentist before taking the advice of the said dentist. In India, the Dental Council of India (DCI) has provided only one course – Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) that a student must clear to become a licensed dentist registered under them. BDS is a five-year undergraduate course with the last year reserved for rotatory internships to get the budding dentists real-world experience. Subjects like Orthodontics, Periodontics, Conservative Dentistry, etc are taught in this course, along with many others that give the students all-round learning of dentistry.
The following eligibility criteria remain more or less the same for students looking to get admission to BDS colleges in India:
- The applicant must be 17 or more years of age
- The applicant must have cleared their 10+2 with a minimum of 50% and the PCB (Physics, Chemistry, Maths) subject combination
- The applicant must have appeared in NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test)
What is Dental Hygiene?
Before we jump into the top 5 tips for healthy smiles it is important to understand what is meant by dental hygiene. There are billions of bacteria around us at any given time, and this especially includes the mouth where the dark and moist environment is the ideal breeding ground for bacteria. These bacteria feed on the remnants of the food that sticks around in our mouth and produce acids as a byproduct that wear down the protective enamel of our teeth. This leads to diseases like cavities and gum disease if they are left to wreak havoc in our mouths.
That is where dental hygiene comes in. While we cannot totally eliminate the bacteria in our mouth for good, what we can do is limit their food sources by keeping our mouth clean i.e., maintaining oral and dental hygiene.
5 Tips for Healthy Smiles
There are many ways you can improve your oral hygiene habits, but all of them revolve around some core principles. Let us now look at 5 of the best tips for healthy smiles recommended by students and faculty alike at Mansarovar Dental College, the best dental college in Bhopal.
Develop Healthy Brushing Habits
It should be no surprise that brushing would make it to the top of the list. You should brush your teeth at least twice per day. Brushing is the only way to combat plaque buildup in our teeth which is the main culprit behind tooth decay.
Another thing to take into consideration is the type of brush you use – dentists recommend using a soft-bristle brush. Also, you should not press too hard while brushing, or switch to an electric toothbrush.
Floss Every Day
While we Indians are not familiar with flossing, it is steadily gaining popularity because of its apparent benefits in preventing gum disease, especially in cities. If you visit a dental college and hospital for your oral checkup, the doctors there will definitely recommend flossing at least once a day. Flossing also helps in preventing bad breath as it removes the particles between our teeth which produce an odor when the bacteria in our mouth start to break them down.
Water is Your Best Friend
Sugary drinks and food, as well as starchy foods, are the biggest enemies of your healthy smile. Dentists recommend cutting down on sugary drinks and replacing them with water. We understand that it is not possible to totally eliminate these tasty treats from our diet though, so we recommend you drink water after consuming sugary or starchy foods so that nothing can stick around in your mouth to wreak havoc later.
Use a Fluoride Toothpaste and Mouthwash
The fluoride in toothpaste is very important for your dental hygiene as it combats the germs in your mouth and also creates a protective barrier over the enamel of your teeth. Whether you choose a gel or paste type of toothpaste, make sure it contains fluoride.
Rinsing with a good mouthwash after brushing your teeth also helps tremendously, if we are to believe the advice of dentists from a dental college in Madhya Pradesh. They say it takes care of anything that might be left behind after brushing your teeth, including reaching the spots where the brush can’t reach, so that you can wear your smile with confidence.
Get Regular Dental Checkups
This tip is kind of cliched but for a good reason. We recommend visiting your dentist at least twice a year for regular checkups so that if there is something wrong, they can catch it and advise you before it’s too late. As anyone who has ever experienced a toothache knows, it can be one of the most painful things one can experience and the only way to prevent that is through regular visits to your dentist.
Conclusion
We have discussed the top 5 tips that can help you get that perfect smile, or keep it that way if you already have one. And in that process, we have also learned about how dentists become who they are. The thing to take note of is that whether it is a dentist from a dental college in Bhopal or your neighborhood dentist, both of them will insist on all of the dental hygiene tips we have shared to keep your smile healthy and sparkling forever.
FAQs
- Why are starchy foods bad for the teeth?
Starch is essentially complex sugar. The bacteria in our teeth break down starch just as they do with sugar and the acids they produce degrade our teeth.
- What is the best way to brush?
Dentists recommend going up and down in small circles to brush our teeth.
- Which is the best dental college in Bhopal?
Mansarovar Dental College is the best dental college in Bhopal.
- What is the starting salary range of a dentist who has just graduated from BDS?
The average starting salary range of a fresh BDS graduate is around INR 2-3 LPA.
- Which is the best type of floss?
There are many types of floss available, waxed, unwaxed, or even plastic. There are even water picks if you can spend more. The best one depends on the user so you will have to try to find out which suits you the best.
