It’s the time of year when many of us find ourselves tightening our belts and cutting back on non-essential spending. However, financial savings should not come at the expense of you and your family’s health.
Oral health plays a vital role in wider bodily health, and it’s crucial that we keep a good oral hygiene routine whatever our budget. For this blog post, we’ve put together 6 handy tips to save money whilst continuing to maintain healthy teeth and gums.
1. Maintain a good at-home hygiene routine
When finances become tight, it’s natural to home in on items that we reckon we can go without. These oral hygiene products are not among them!
- A toothbrush
- Fluoride toothpaste
- Floss or interdental brushes
All of these items are essential to maintain clean teeth and healthy gums, and the following at-home hygiene routine should be a total non-negotiable in every household:
- Brush teeth for two minutes twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
- Clean between all teeth with floss or interdental brushes every day.
- Using a fluoride mouthwash daily is also recommended to prevent cavities (but not directly after brushing as you will wash your toothpaste’s fluoride away!).
Maintaining this routine between dental visits is important to prevent oral health issues like tooth decay and gum disease developing – which can both become very costly problems.
2. Good oral care products don’t need to be expensive
Sticking to your non-negotiable at-home hygiene routine is a lot easier when you know that effective products don’t need to be expensive.
The toothpaste aisle can be a daunting place, with hundreds of options and varying price tags. Really, the main thing that matters is the toothpaste’s fluoride content. Supermarket own brands and high street discount shops all offer perfectly good toothpaste. Just look at the fluoride content on the packaging and see if you can find one that is suitable for the whole family (so you only need to buy one tube).
The NHS recommends that children over 6 and adults should use toothpaste with a minimum of 1350-1500 ppm of fluoride. If you’re unsure about how much fluoride should be in your child’s toothpaste, ask their dentist or ask our Prevention Team via our oral health advice page.
3. Shop smart
In addition to opting for lower-priced supermarket own brands, there are several other ways to make savings on your oral hygiene essentials:
- Look for the best offers in supermarkets.
- Buy in bulk, if you can afford to, to make a saving in the longer term.
- Browse high street discount shops. Brand name products are often available for a lower price.
- Look in your local pharmacy. They often have deals and lower-priced oral hygiene products.
- Next time you’re at the dentist, browse the oral hygiene products available and deals on offer.
- If you’re on a dental plan – check your perks! 543 Dencare offers all members 10% off dental sundries bought at the practice.
4. Opt for tap water
A key part of maintaining healthy teeth at home is healthy eating, limiting the number of sugar attacks your teeth face every day.
Choosing tap water instead of soft drinks throughout the day will decrease your sugar intake and reduce the risk of enamel erosion (caused by the combination of sugar and fizziness in drinks).
If you typically drink at least one soft drink per day, opting for tap water could save you around £35 per month, adding up to almost £500 saved in a year.
5. Stop smoking or vaping
Smoking has terrible consequences for your oral health, from staining and bad breath to gum disease and mouth cancer. It can also cause burgeoning oral health issues to worsen quickly.
Vaping is a useful tool for smokers who are trying to quit, but it should not be seen as a long-term solution. Vaping shares many of the same negative effects as smoking, including increasing your risk of gum disease, tooth decay and bad breath.
Both smoking and vaping are counteractive to your oral hygiene routine and quitting could save you upwards of £100 per month. The NHS has lots of free resources designed to help smokers quit for good and you can find them here.
6. Remember that prevention is the best policy
When things are tight, some may consider rescheduling routine check-ups and hygiene appointments. While this might seem like a short-term solution to free up your finances, it may result in more long-term expense, as dental issues can easily develop into something requiring more expensive treatment.
Routine check-ups and hygiene appointments are essential. Even if your teeth look and feel clean and healthy, dentists, dental therapists and hygienists are trained to spot possible issues with your teeth that you may not be aware of and can catch and treat them early.
Routine appointments can be made more affordable with dental plans like 543 Dencare. 543 Dencare includes your routine annual check-ups and hygiene appointments in a monthly payment starting at £17.75. Members also benefit from 20% off treatments like extractions, fillings, root canal, crowns, bridges and whitening. They also receive 10% off products bought at the practice.
We also offer a family discount, where each additional family member who joins will receive 10% off their monthly fee.
543 Dencare is a great way to maintain a healthy mouth for less and prevent costly dental problems. Explore our plans at 543dencare.co.uk or call us on 01482 501010. Alternatively, if you are seeking advice and want to ask our dedicated Prevention Team a question, visit our Oral Health Advice page.
