It’s easy to forget to take care of yourself when you are sick with a cold or the flu. When you’re rundown and feeling sick, you may not remember to brush your teeth or floss regularly. But by keeping up with good dental health practices you can actually help yourself feel a little better.
Practice Good Hygiene
You may not feel like brushing your teeth or flossing while you are sick but this is key to helping your body get back to normal.
You’ll want to be sure not to share your toothbrush with anyone while you are sick to avoid the spread of germs. But you don’t need to worry about reinfecting yourself by using the same toothbrush. The chances of this are very low unless you have a very compromised immune system. If you are concerned, it doesn’t hurt to replace your toothbrush.
Rinse Your Mouth After Vomiting
As unpleasant as it sounds, vomiting can actually increase the amount of harmful acid on your teeth. While this may make you want to brush your teeth instantly, you will just be rubbing the stomach acid on your teeth, which increases your risk of cavities.
Using water or a diluted mouthwash can help wash away that acid. Then, after at least 30 minutes you can brush your teeth.
Choose Sugar-Free Cough Drops
The sugar content in your cough drops is likely the last thing you are thinking about when you are suffering from a sore throat or cough. This sugar, while lingering in your mouth as the cough drop dissolves, causes bacteria that produce acid and lead to cavities in your teeth.
Simply replacing your cough drops with sugar-free versions can help keep your mouth healthy and help you feel better.
Hydrate to Avoid Dry Mouth
Dry mouth can lead to cavities. While you are always at risk for dry mouth if you don’t drink enough water it is especially important to actively avoid it while you are sick. The medications you take can actually dry out your mouth.
Drinking a lot of water and sucking on sugarless cough drops can help keep your saliva flowing.
Drink Fluids
It’s important to stay hydrated when you are sick. But when you are sick you may be more inclined to drink sports drinks that are filled with sugar in order to hydrate your body. While they do help with hydration, they are not good for your teeth. Sticking to water most of the time can protect your teeth from sugars found in those drinks.
You also can drink tea to help you feel better, but like with sports drinks, you’ll want to avoid adding sugar and even lemon if you want to keep your teeth healthy.