The time has finally come.  You are watching your kids run around in swimming trunks and floaties in the middle of winter.  For a second it doesn’t make that much sense until you realize they are packing.  Well if putting on all of their clothes for a swimming adventure is packing, then I guess you are a parent.  So vacation is here and many things are all happening at once.  All the excitement comes and the feeling of being free is finally happening.  One of the most important areas that seem to get overlooked during this time is that everyone is going to be eating snacks, random eating out and lots of new beverages.  This is simply how vacation goes and it also means that you need to plan ahead and get your dental hygiene materials ready to go.  It takes a plan because without one there is no way you are going to stay on track after an exhausting day at the beach or Disney.  That is why today I want to go over a few things that have helped me and my family out to stay excited for our dental health and to keep our family safe.

When we are going on vacation I like to do a little prep work to keep us excited about brushing our teeth.  This is a hard thing to do because normally at hotels I am usually grossed out by strange bathrooms and the thought of toothbrushes hitting the sink that thousands of other people have done who knows what and where on.  That is why I like to get some dental materials that I can easily throw away when we are done with vacation.  But if I had to get nice toothbrushes and stuff for our whole family, it would be a costly outing.  So this is why the travel section at your local big-box grocery store is amazing. 

I love to hit up the travel section before vacation and for 10 bucks I can get each family member a new toothbrush and a travel kit.  The brushes are normally themed for some popular kids movie or Star Wars.  Let’s face it I love them just as much as the kids and last year my wife was Yoda and I was Darth Vader.  It was a fun toothbrush to use and to get excited about using after a long day.  What I love most about them is that they normally have a suction cup on the bottom of the brush.  This is awesome because I can simply stick it to the sink after I am done and not worry about it falling over or getting knocked to the ground.  This solves so many problems and it all comes with the cost of a dollar toothbrush.

Each set normally comes with toothpaste and mouth wash as well.  This allows my whole family to have a fun and useful dental set for vacation for less than 10 dollars for all of us.  Wow, that is great because I know our teeth are being protected and cavities are not building up while we are having fun.  It is also great to have us all get somewhat excited at the end of a hard and long day to stay up on the routine.  Instead of the dreaded, “brush your teeth routine” most of us are happy to do it together.

It is now 2021 and people need to have a certain look to work well.  That is because zoom calls are now happening through half the day and your dental health is showing.  There are pivotal moments in the American Society that suggest that these times are worth going all in for when it comes to teeth whitening.  Some of these occasions are weddings, graduations, and big photoshoots.  These are the times that you will get life-long lasting moments and they will follow you through your entire life.  That is why the tooth whitening industry is getting so big and it is because people are believing that they must have perfect teeth during this time.  I am pretty sure your life will be ok without super bright or perfect teeth, but I do think it is nice to look your best if some photo or video is going to be shown all your life to those who love you.  There are so many options for whitening and I want to go over what  I have experienced to maybe help you get those pearly whites. 

Fashion is always important and so is having white teeth.  I learned this young and when I needed to look fab, I knew I needed brighter teeth.  I was actually in Junior High and she was getting ready for prom in a few weeks.  She purchased some crest white strips and I was all about wanting to get my dating game on point.  This was a huge moment because we had never done it before.  But we ended up putting on both crest whitening strips and found it really weird and jelly.  It was hard to get them placed on our teeth but we did it and finally started the timer.  It took a few days to see any difference, but then it all happened.

The pack was finally done and what I noticed most was the pain in my mouth.  I had super bright and white teeth, but they were sensitive.  That was the term I was told to say, but what they really were was in pain.  I had great-looking teeth and my teeth hurt for days on hot and cold items.  It was most likely a bad thing for my dental health and if it was not for the fact that I was getting married 20 years later I would have never used them again.  But I needed white teeth quickly and the newer version was easier to use, but still gave me painful teeth in the end.  I couldn’t finish out the entire package of crest white strips due to the pain, but I did look good for my wedding.  It worked and worked well, but it hurt like hell.

I suggest using something more natural and charcoal toothpaste was the key to my success.  I have tried regular whitening toothpaste and seen no difference.  But this year with the pandemic I ended up working from home and stepped up my dental routine.  I brushed three times a day and at night I used a whitening charcoal toothpaste. This routine happened for a month and I didn’t feel sensitive teeth at all, but my smile started to get brighter.  I can’t say it worked fast, but it worked and kept me from feeling pain.  That is why it is my best recommendation for getting bright teeth, but not in a hurry.  If you think you may need a different option than by all means please go see your dentist for the best option!

If you are alive in 2020 then you have most likely started a new trend.  Yep, it now goes along with my wallet and that is my facemask.  It is always in my pocket because in 2020 you cannot go into any store without one in most of the country.  What this has done is not a massive rights violation, but a dental health crisis has been discovered because of it.  Most Americans now have found out that their dental health is not what they thought it was.  The regular routines that we normally do have been found out to not be good enough because our bad breath is shown to us every day when we put on the mask. Now just because you have some bad-smelling breath does not mean you have halitosis, but it could mean that your dental routine may need to tweaking and it is also wise to head in to see your dentist. 

Visiting the dentist is something that I really am not a fan of. I don’t like spending money for someone to prod around in my mouth to see what is wrong. But if it saves me cavities or bad breath in the long run I think it is worth it.  I mean nothing is worse than dental surgery and it certainly is expensive along with super painful. 

Really, though the older I get the more I am ready to go through a little pain and time to save a big issue down the road.  I know that if I go to my dentist he will give me the actual layout of where my teeth and mouth are and a good plan to stay healthy for the next 6 months or so.  That is worth the visit especially if it prevents a major issue down the road.  So I would say first off, if you have some pretty bad breath, go schedule a time to see your dentist.

Now our routines are usually the cause of the bad breath over time and that can go into what we are eating and drinking, but it can also be part of what we are doing with our dental habits.  Most Americans actually brush their teeth once a day at best.  We all know that goodie too shoes, but most people are busy, and only do a little bit here and there. That is ok, I am with you, but now that masks are a thing and now that I know I should be doing more I am going to do it.

For me, my brushing needs to step up and I have worked hard to get to three times a day.  But this was not unthinkable because I now work from home.  My regular toothbrush and sink are ready for me whenever I am home and all I need is a prompting to do it.  Well, nothing works better than an alarm for me so I have three sets a day.  Yes, this may seem like overkill but to me building a habit is important. I don’t want to do this for a week and stop.  I want this to be my life long habit so I started to make it one.  It would be my suggestion to get a good whitening toothpaste to also help your mind see results.  Seeing is believing and that helps keep me accountable to myself.

With all the masks being worn and all the zoom videos, I have seen that smiles are more important than ever.  I work had to keep my smile bright and white.  It is harder than it looks and my own smile has gone from looking great to looking super dim over the years.  I have had nasty yellow teeth EWW and also some beyond bright white teeth.  Yes, I still regret the super white teeth and would never do that again.  So I want to go over a little bit of my journey and how it has changed over the years. I have had some drastic changes and some of that has been due to COVID-19.  This has changed more than just my job, but lots in my life and it has affected my dental health too.  Don’t get caught up in the crazy talk, start smart.  

There are white strips and I have used them.  On my first round, it was a hard time. The reason I ended up trying this was actually a wedding in my family. I was told that my teeth were simply really bad.  It was unfortunate that my teeth were simply so bad looking. But at this time in my life, I was only brushing my teeth once a day and with normal toothpaste.  It had no whitening in it and was regular paste which protected my teeth well, but it did not help them stay bright.  So why did I end up with crest white strips?  The answer boiled down to cost. 

Money does matter and some things are way more than others.  The cost of white strips was around 30 dollars on my first go around.  It turns out that I actually went to split this with my sister.  We both tried them at the same time and the first day was perfect.  It was weird to put them on and let the gell be there.  I ended up doing the first few days with no issues.  But then my teeth began to get sensitive.  What that means to me is that anything cold or hot simply hurts my teeth.  It was like the nerves were being tortured.  I wanted to do it to keep my teeth white but after a week, I could no longer go on.  It was probably not safe and hurt too much to go on.

It worked I had great-looking teeth.  They looked good and finally a few weeks later my teeth stopped hurting.  The end outcome was that my sister and I had great-looking teeth, but it was really not worth the pain that it caused.  I ended up doing this process one more time for my own wedding.  It worked again, but it also caused the same pain and I decided after that day I would never do that again. 

With 2021 bringing about hard things, new toothpaste is being welcomed.  Charcoal has been used for everything this year, but teeth whitening is one of those things that has stuck.  Many kinds of toothpaste have been created with it and it has been on my list.  Since COVID-19 hit I have upped my toothbrushing game to three times a day.  The last brush of the day has actually been a charcoal brush.  This has been going on for months and my teeth have whitened many shades. I hope my experience helps you out!