Nowadays, we often encounter the concept of self-care, or loving and prioritizing yourself first. It is about practicing mindfulness and being attuned to your body’s needs which includes the trendy practice of skincare, haircare, and other examples like maintaining a healthy sleep schedule, eating healthy, shopping, meditating, and the likes. These several practices of self-care are most talked about daily– and truth be told– oral care isn’t something most of us are giving a lot of attention to. So, why should we even talk about oral care? Simply brushing our teeth three times a day is the most basic oral health care but, if that’s the case, why do we still experience having bad breath, mouth sore, gingivitis and more? Indeed, oral care is more than what we simply thought it would be.

                      Dermaid has recently concluded a discussion to converse about the importance of practicing proper and effective oral care that most people often neglect about. To know more about the oral hygiene tips to strengthen and maintain your dental health,  Dermaid conducted a Facebook Live last February 10, 2023 with DJ Maki Rena and Dra. Kathleen Navarro, a Digital Web Dental Creator with a history of working in the internet industry with several marketing agencies and dental offices in the US, UK, and Australia. She is also a registered hygienist and licensed dentist. The said FB Live was in partnership with Watsons wherein viewers can avail a 50Php promo discount throughout the show by using the voucher code WATSDA50.

                    During the discussion, Dra. Navarro touched on the causes of sensitivity and gingivitis, why we have bad breath, and how to maintain an overall healthy oral hygiene. She explained that sensitivity or commonly referred to as ‘pangingilo’ is one of the symptoms of poor oral hygiene. Oftentimes, oral health is being overlooked as it is not given that much importance. The symptoms of poor oral hygiene are toothache, tooth decay, loose teeth, bleeding gums, chronic bad breath, and gingivostomatitis. 

                    Moreover, Dra. Navarro has elaborated on the causes of bad breath, saying that oral health problems commonly start with having stinky breath. She adds that it is often an indicator that your oral health has been compromised. It can either be due to your oral health, food intake, improper brushing of teeth, or simply, poor oral hygiene. A few of the causes of having bad breath or as we call it Gingivostomatitis are smoking, certain strong-smelling foods  like garlic, onions, spices, coffee, fish, among other things. Sometimes it is also because of having a dirty tongue and dry mouth. However, there are still other causes such as tooth decay or mouth infections that can cause halitosis. 

                    Dra. Navarro explains that, to prevent having dental and oral problems, the best thing to do is brushing twice to thrice a day and flossing once a day which can help a lot in maintaining a healthy mouth. Little things like this add up to the big picture which brings you a happy and healthy mouth! 

                    Furthermore, Dra. Kath adds that spicy, salty, and strong-smelling food contribute to the deterioration of our oral health if not properly attended to. She recommends increasing water intake, regular brushing of teeth, and rinsing with Dermaid’s Antibacterial Mouthwash twice a day. It contains natural ingredients with 0% sugar and alcohol is a healthy remedy to practicing good oral hygiene. Additionally, for gum care and sore throat, gargling with Chlorhexidine Oral Rinse does wonders for your oral health too! 

                    A mouth that’s well-taken care of is not that hard in maintaining. We just need to be consistent, disciplined, and well aware of what’s going on in our mouth. Relying on visiting the dentist for check-up wouldn’t suffice because on a daily basis, it is ourselves who are responsible for taking care of our oral health. And– throat be told– our oral health is OUR health too.