2022 in Full Swing
The new year is officially here! Are you ready? If you’re anything like us, you like to put some thought into how you can improve for the new year to come. What kind of 2022 New Year’s resolutions can I create and accomplish? You can really get creative when finding goals that fit your lifestyle. That said, adding an oral health goal to your 2022 health resolutions list might just get you on the right track to creating even bigger goals throughout the year. Small changes can bring big results to your health!
An Oral Health Goal Makes Bigger Goals More Attainable
Have you ever entered January with a big New Year’s health resolution, only to end up ditching it come February? We’ve been there, friend. It can be hard to commit to change, especially when our goals are wildly ambitious. The nice thing about adding an oral health goal to your resolution list is that they can be particularly low stress and easy to achieve. For most people, it’s a lot easier to commit to brushing your teeth every night than it is to exercise for 30 minutes every day. If you create a manageable oral health resolution, you’ll be setting up the building blocks to take on even bigger 2022 health resolutions. How’s that for success?
Oral Health Affects the Entire Body
Oral health resolutions are just as worthy as any other health resolution that you aim for in 2022. Why? Because the health of your mouth has an impact on your entire body. For example, gum disease is linked with conditions like diabetes and heart disease. In fact, those with gum disease are 2 to 3 times more likely to have a cardiovascular event. Head, shoulders, knees, and teeth is more like it! Now that it’s a new year, you have another great reason to think about an oral health goal that will benefit you all year long.
Oral Health Resolutions Make You Feel Better
There are so many reasons why you should have an oral health resolution, but what better reason than to make sure you’re feeling good? Having a healthier and cleaner mouth just feels oh-so-right. As it turns out, cleanliness of the body produces endorphins that help you feel fabulous. Your oral health goal is sure to keep you on Cloud 9.
The Whole Family Can Join
Creating excellent oral health habits early on will give your child the tools they need to keep up with their oral hygiene well into adulthood. So if you’re looking for New Year’s resolutions for kids, a great place to look is at the oral health practices that your child already completes. What could make things better? Can flossing habits improve? Maybe you need to bump up brushing once a day to twice a day. Whatever goal you wish to create, sometimes it’s more attainable when you have a group going along with you on the journey. Besides, everyone in your family can benefit from a solid oral hygiene routine.
When Motivation Comes and Goes, You Have Some Tricks to Try
In a previous blog post, we wrote about getting motivated to see the dentist. A lot of the same tips we shared can apply to creating dental resolutions and sticking to them. Find it here. Another “trick” you can try is adding your oral health goal to a routine that you’ve already created. Let’s say you want to floss daily and are already brushing your teeth. Create a relationship. If you brush your teeth, then that means you floss. In this way, you are adding a new habit onto an old one, making it easier for you to stick to. This is technique is called “habit stacking” also known as “habit chaining,” which is particularly useful when sticking to oral health resolutions or any resolution for that matter.
Get Creative with Dental Health Goals
When you think of oral health goals, your mind likely jumps to creating habits like brushing and flossing. You can dream beyond (if you want to that is!). An oral health goal can include your eating habits like sugar intake or even taking time out of the day to relax your jaw if you tend to grind your teeth. Placing an ice pack on your cheek or using an ice roller in the evening for 5 minutes may just make a world of a difference. Of course, we recommend that you make an appointment to see us for your regular cleaning and exam appointment too.
There’s no telling what the new year will bring, but we know we’ll be able to meet more amazing patients from our local community. If you’re looking to schedule, click here.
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