Oral Thrush and Dental Care

Having good dental hygiene is important if you have already developed oral thrush, or you want to prevent it from occurring. There are certain people that may be more likely to experience an outbreak of oral thrush. These people include those who wear dentures, have braces, plates and other specialized dental work in place. If you have any of the above, then you should speak to your dentist about the exact dental care routine that they recommend for your individual circumstances. Good oral hygiene should involve brushing at least twice a day, rinsing with an antiseptic mouth wash and flossing too.

Denture wearers are prime targets for developing oral thrush, in fact around 70 per cent of denture users will develop the condition at some point. To try and avoid this, you should ensure that your dentures fit well to avoid irritation occurring around the gums and soft tissue. It is also very important to clean your dentures thoroughly in the recommended manner. If you wear dentures, then you need to take them out before bed and clean them with an antibacterial and antiseptic rinse that has been given to you by your dentist.

Smoking is disastrous for your mouth, along with virtually every other part of your body, and it can lead to oral thrush. If you are a smoker and have dental wear, then you have even more reason to quit now. Not only will you have stinky smoker’s breath, but you may end up pairing it with less than attractive oral thrush.

If you find that you do develop oral thrush and you wear dentures or have other dental ware, then you should visit your dentist to get a treatment plan. There are a variety of options that can be used to stop the oral thrush in its tracks. You may be given a combination of antifungal mouth rinse, lozenges, gel or tablets to kill off the Candida that is causing your oral thrush symptoms. Make sure that you follow the treatment plan to the letter: one of the tricky things about these yeast infections is that even when the symptoms have disappeared, there is often Candida left over. By taking the full course of treatment that you are given, you can ensure that you have eradicated all the Candida. Leaving the treatment unfinished leaves the door open for the Candida to multiply out of control all over again.