How to Get Back Into a Good Dental Routine (Even If You've Fallen Out of the Habit)

There comes a point where most of us realise we've let things slide a little.

Maybe it's been a busy few weeks at work. Maybe the summer holidays threw your usual routine out of the window. Or perhaps you've simply got out of the habit of looking after your teeth in the way you know you should.

If that's where you are, don't beat yourself up. It happens to just about everyone at some point.

The reassuring thing is that your mouth doesn't expect perfection. What makes the biggest difference is consistency, and that's something you can always get back.

Why getting back into a routine works

People often imagine that once they've fallen out of a good routine, they've somehow undone years of looking after their teeth.

That's rarely the case.

Your gums and teeth respond to what you're doing now, not what happened three weeks ago.

Once you're brushing thoroughly twice a day and cleaning between your teeth regularly again, your mouth starts to recover. Plaque is removed before it has a chance to build up, your gums become less irritated and your teeth simply feel cleaner.

Patients often tell me they notice the little things first. Their mouth feels fresher when they wake up. Their teeth don't have that furry feeling by the middle of the afternoon. Their gums bleed less when they brush.

Those aren't dramatic changes, but they're encouraging ones because you can actually feel that your efforts are making a difference.

Building the habit again

You've probably heard people say it takes 21 days to build a habit.

The research suggests it's usually longer than that. A well-known study from University College London found that, on average, people took around 66 days for a new behaviour to become automatic.

That figure can sound daunting until you think about it another way.

Sixty-six days is a tiny fraction of a year, and the aim isn't to reach day 66 perfectly. It's simply to keep coming back to the routine, even if you miss the occasional evening or forget one morning.

That's how habits are built; not through perfection, but through repetition.

Before long, brushing your teeth isn't something you have to remind yourself to do. It becomes another part of your day, much like locking the front door or making your morning coffee.

Don't overlook your dental check-up

Getting back into good habits at home is one of the best things you can do for your oral health, but it's only part of the picture.

Some dental problems don't announce themselves. Small cavities (also known as caries or decay) can develop without causing pain, and early gum disease is often easy to miss. It's one of the reasons regular check-ups are so valuable. They allow us to spot changes before they become bigger problems.

If it's been a while since your last visit, don't worry about how long it's been. We really don't sit there keeping score. We'll simply have a look, let you know how everything is doing and help you move forward from where you are today.

Sometimes all it takes is that one appointment to help you feel back in control of your oral health again.