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00:00It's very important for all of us to maintain good oral hygiene.
00:06Without this we've got an increased risk of infections, mouth ulcers, bad breath, inflammation of the gums or gingivitis,
00:15more frequent visits to the dentist with expensive treatments which can be quite uncomfortable.
00:21The best ways to keep your mouth and teeth clean is obviously to clean your teeth at least twice a day,
00:28to swill your mouth out after you've cleaned your teeth, to floss and avoid eating foods which are very sugary,
00:36particularly sugary carbonated drinks.
00:42Our mouth has a delicate balance of healthy and unhealthy bacteria.
00:48The unhealthy bacteria obviously cause the gingivitis and the dental caries,
00:53but the healthy bacteria help with the digestion of food, actually protect your mouth from carcinogens and from other attacks.
01:03Now when you take the alcohol or antibacterial mouthwashes, they indiscriminately destroy both types of bacteria.
01:16Unless you're treating a specific infection within the mouth and advised by the dentist, I would avoid buying these.
01:24Save your money. If you want to swill your mouth out after cleaning your teeth, use just some salt water or just plain water.
01:32The best way to maintain good oral hygiene is still to clean your teeth thoroughly at least twice a day,
01:39floss before you go to bed, avoid sugary foods and particularly sugary carbonated drinks.
01:46And if you want to swill your mouth out, say after a sugary meal or after you've cleaned your teeth, just use plain water or maybe some salt water.
01:55Patients often ask me about the role of antibacterial mouthwashes,
02:00but evidence is now emerging that actually they can do more harm than good.