Boise Dentist

Summer is a fun time of year to get outside and enjoy more physical activity.

And that’s great, but not if you’re not staying hydrated!

Dehydration isn’t good for your body, and it’s equally bad for your smile.

With bad breath and weak teeth threatening your summer fun, our team at Times Square Dental wants to spend today’s blog telling you an important secret about proper hydration.

It’s all about saliva and what it can do to protect your teeth and freshen your breath!

Saliva: A Little-Known Secret To A Healthy Smile

Drinking enough water is a way to help your body produce a healthy amount of saliva everyday. Why is saliva so important, you might wonder?

Because it’s a little-known secret to a healthy smile!

Here’s how staying well-hydrated this summer can benefit your breath and your teeth thanks to a good flow of saliva inside your mouth!

*Saliva Helps Your Breath Stay Fresh*

You probably know the basics of keeping your teeth clean.

You should brush twice each day with a soft-bristle toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste.

And you should be flossing at least once a day to dislodge food and other debris that get stuck in between teeth.

But what we often overlook is the help we get all day long from saliva to keep our mouths clean.

The saliva inside your mouth is crucial to keeping your teeth and gums clean in between your morning and nighttime oral hygiene routine.

It’s the body’s natural way to wash food particles from inside your mouth that get left behind after a meal.

Obviously, if you’re not producing enough saliva, you don’t have anything there to remove bits of food and layers of residue from your teeth and gums. It doesn’t take long for those remnants to begin emitting a foul odor that results in bad breath.

Who would’ve thought that saliva helped keep your breath fresh?

*Saliva Helps Your Teeth Stay Strong*

Another benefit of saliva is the way it helps keep your teeth strong.

Saliva has mineral compounds your body uses to naturally fend off harmful bacteria in your mouth. Not only is it hard at work washing away food particles, but it’s coating your tooth enamel and protecting it against acid erosion.

When bacteria feeds on food in your mouth, it secretes acids that eat microscopic holes through your enamel that allow even more bacteria into the vulnerable insides of your teeth.

Your enamel is strong, but it can do little against the constant assault of harmful acids that leave your teeth weak.

To keep them strong, you should be producing adequate saliva to coat your teeth with that needed layer of protection.

*Proper Hydration Is Key*

Under normal circumstances, you should be taking in at least 64 ounces, or 8 glasses, of water per day.

But summer isn’t a normal circumstance!

It can get pretty hot and humid outside this time of year, that you could be losing more fluids simply sitting still! That’s not even taking into account your level of physical activity each day.

The important thing is to modify your water intake depending on how much time you’re spending outdoors or exercising. It may require you to drink more than 8 glasses to stay well-hydrated this season.

Schedule A Summer Appointment

Proper hydration does your body and your smile a lot of good!

You not only keep your teeth safe from bacteria, but you can enjoy fresher breath all because you get enough water each day.

If, however, you have teeth that have already suffered the effects of erosion, we can strengthen your teeth with various restorative treatments at Times Square Dental.

We can also offer solutions for bad breath if you can’t seem to mask it with proper hygiene, mouthwash, and hydration.

Call our Boise, ID dental office today at 208-278-1069 fill out our convenient online form to schedule your summer appointment.