Smile Savers!

I decide to write about family health on Saturdays and Sundays and Monday - Friday write about educational issues. This article is about dental care.

Brushing, flossing, and eating right keep your teeth strong and promote overall health according to "goodhealth", in "Good Housekeeping Magazine", March 2010 issue. Dental health is extremely important for everyone in the family especially young children who need to get in good dental hygiene habits. The following suggestions were made to keep a beautiful and healthy smile:

1. Make it tea for your teeth. Fruit drinks, sodas, and citrus juices (like orange) have sugar and acids that wear away tooth enamel. The better dental choice is just plain water or tea without milk, lemon, or sugar.

2. Listen to your hygienist. In a two-week study of identical twins, on brushed and flossed, the other simply brushed. The flossers developed significantly less plaque-causing bacteria than their brush-only siblings.

3. Spoon up some culture. In a new study, people consumed at least 1/4 cup of yogurt or a lactic acid drink every day were less than half as likely to have serious gum disease. The magic ingredient? Probiotics, researchers believe.

4. get plenty of fruits and veggies. The higher your consumption of folic acid from food (produce is a great source), the lower your risk of bleeding gums, research shows.