- Stay hydrated: Water also helps wash away bacteria that could cause cavities.
- Watch your diet: Especially during the holidays, it is easy to overindulge in desserts and sweets, and consuming sugar is detrimental to oral health.
- See your dentist before you leave: For preventative purposes, schedule a teeth cleaning appointment with your oral healthcare practitioner before you travel to ensure that cavities, toothaches, or other painful conditions don’t interfere with your trip.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – A Jacksonville periodontist is offering useful tips for keeping up with oral hygiene routines during the holiday season, when millions of Americans will be traveling to visit friends and loved ones.
“It can be very easy to brush aside our oral hygiene when we travel, since traveling disturbs our normal routines and can sometimes remove us from our comfort zone,” said Dr. Jose I. Arauz, a board-certified periodontist and chief dental officer at the Carolina Dental Specialty Center. “However, it is important to pay attention to our oral hygiene even when we travel, and to set aside time to take care of ourselves.”
According to Dr. Arauz, the first tip for keeping up with oral hygiene on the go is to choose a travel kit with all of the essentials for taking care of our teeth and gums. These necessities include a toothbrush, a sanitary toothbrush cover, toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash and a tongue scraper.
“Many pre-arranged kits exist with all of the hygienic essentials to take on a trip,” said Arauz. “They are compact, easy to pack and are typically made to be easily accessible. It is as simple as choosing one that will allow you to keep up with your normal routine, and packing it along with the rest of your luggage.”
Arauz specifically emphasized the importance of a sanitary toothbrush cover to keep your toothbrush bristles free of bacteria. He recommends letting your toothbrush dry before placing the cover on it, because dampness encourages bacterial growth.
Chewing sugar-free gum is another effective, if nonconventional, way to maintain oral hygiene while traveling, according to Arauz.
“We don’t want to be chewing on sugar, so sugar free gum should be our go-to, but chewing gum can be useful especially if we find ourselves falling out of our normal oral healthcare routine,” he said. “That is because the gum helps keep saliva flowing inside our mouths, which is useful in combatting cavity-causing bacteria that may build up over time.”
Dr. Arauz also provided the following advice for keeping your teeth and gums clean during travel: