Even if you eat foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals and the food gets trapped between teeth, then you need to understand why this keeps happening. You’re likely identifying how you can remove trapped food. However, let’s take a back step and identify why food regularly remains stuck.
How Does Food Get Stuck?
Here are some reasons why food gets trapped between your teeth:
- Overcrowding – The first reason why food can get stuck in between teeth is because of overcrowding. When there’s a small gap in between teeth, food then drops down towards the gums, but it can be easily removable through a toothpick or when rinsing your mouth. Sometimes, it’s easier for food to trap itself where an area of your teeth is overcrowded. There is a lack of space in between them for the food to fall out.
- Cavities – When teeth decay, tiny openings form at the biting surface of a tooth. When you eat food, it can get trapped in the hole, potentially exposing your gums to infection. This can cause the cavities to become larger.
- Between Gums – Food naturally gets stuck between the gums. Whether it be hard or sharp foods, this indicates a gap in between your teeth. Whilst this shouldn’t be the case as teeth should be bound tight, it can sometimes happen. If food irritates the gums, this can cause gum inflammation.
How To Remove Food Trapped Between Teeth
Never panic! There are some simple remedies that can remove food trapped between teeth quite quickly. You want to make sure that trapped food does not remain inside your mouth as this can cause dental plaque to coat your teeth, which is full of bacteria.
Rinse Your Mouth
After eating, rinse your mouth with lukewarm water. You may even consider adding a teaspoon of salt to help neutralize any bacteria build-up in the mouth. Swish the water around your mouth and spit it out.
Brush Your Teeth
This is something that you must always do. If you’ve eaten a meal at night before you go to sleep, make sure that you clean your teeth so the bristles to your toothbrush can accumulate the debris and bacteria for a cleaner mouth before you go to sleep.
Visit The Dentist
Book yourself in for a check-up so the dentist can perform scale and polish treatment. Any food or dental plaque trapped in your teeth can be scraped off so your smile can return again. Also, after some dental treatment like veneeers, the dentist could suggest to avoid some foods.
If you have food trapped between teeth, it should be simple enough to perform these remedies for a cleaner mouth. Alternatively, if you need dental plaque removed, a check-up at the dentist is waiting for you. We at Garran Garran Dental Woden would gladly help restore the whiteness in your smile again. Book yourself in with us here.