Here is a guide that amounts mostly to Just Good Advice.  Take care of your mouth, so it can take care of you.

Take care of your teeth. Brush them. Often.  At least twice a day, whether they need it or not. You will be glad you did. And pay attention to doing it the right way- up and down, and long enough to actually help.  Brush your tongue now and then, but be ready, because most of us will get a little spasm as we do.

Rinse your mouth with mouthwash.  Your friends will thank you.  So will your gums, if we can believe those commercials. Hey, it's cheap insurance, even if it doesn't help much. It CAN'T hurt. Compare the price of one trip to the periodontist  (what, a hundred bucks at least?) with a big bottle of  your favorite mouthwash (Two bucks, three?)  How hard is THAT to figure out?

But here is the big one.  Even if you brush two or three times a day, rinse every morning with the powerful stuff, and only chew sugarless gum, the way to make the biggest difference in your oral health is being left out.

That's right, the big one. FLOSS. If you are lucky and all of your teeth touch just right, you may never have the feeling of pieces of food stuck between your teeth. For the rest of us, there is floss. And here's a secret. even if you don't have those nagging hunks of chicken wing caught between your molars, or popcorn hulls, or  tiny bits of pre-toxic spinach,  YOU STILL NEED TO FLOSS.  Don't believe me? OK , WHY NOT FLOSS RIGHT NOW, Just To See. I'll wait right here.

Did you notice how stinky your breath was when you finished, but before you rinsed your mouth? That was the smell of all of that stuff you hadn't noticed between your teeth. Yipes.

Those handy floss-on-a-stick things are wonderful. I keep a bag in my car. It's never a  bad idea to do a little flossing while driving, unless, of course, you have someone else in the car with you. Or you are already using one hand to work the cell phone. But, just like our little experiment, automotive based flossing does best when followed by a little rinse, so save the last little bit of your bottled water.

There are a lot of shall we say INTERESTING theories about xylitol and gum that includes  it. I am not really in  a position to confirm or deny all of that, but it does not promote tooth decay and it does make your breath smell better. Why not keep a pack in the same place you keep your floss-on-a-stick?

But stay away from toothpicks, unless they have hors d'oeuvres on them, of course.

If you do take care of your mouth, you just MIGHT find that it will save you time and money at the dentist. Think how nice it would be to have your teeth cleaned without getting hollered at by the hygienist. Cool huh?

Please take care and be sure to see my dozens of other fun and helpful guides and reviews.

WT