Cold and Flu Season: Ways to Care For Your Mouth When You're Sick

Practice Good Hygiene

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• Put your used tissue in a waste basket.
• If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.
• Remember to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing.
• Keep up regular dental hygiene- brush and floss daily.
• Change your toothbrush or electric toothbrush head after the illness passes.

Choose Sugar-Free Cough Drops

• Avoid ingredients like fructose or corn syrup.
• The longer you keep a sugary cough drop in your mouth, the more time cavity-causing bacteria has to feast on that sugar, which produces the acid that can leave holes in your teeth.

Swish and Spit After Vomiting

• Swish with water or a diluted mouth rinse to wash the acid off the teeth.
• Wait 30 minutes to brush the teeth.

Stay Hydrated to Avoid a Dry Mouth

• Dry mouth can put you at greater risk for cavities.
• The medications you might be taking for a cold or flu—such as antihistamines, decongestants or pain relievers—can also dry out your mouth, so drink plenty of water and suck on sugarless cough drops, throat lozenges or candies to keep that saliva flowing.
• The best thing to drink is water. Sports drinks might be recommended to replenish electrolytes when you’re sick, but drink them in moderation and don’t make them a habit after you’ve recovered because unless they are a sugar free version, they contain a lot of sugar.
• If drinking tea, don't add sugar or lemon.  Again, this can cause cavities.

Gargle with Salt Water

• Dissolve a tablespoon of salt water in a glass of warm water. Gargle and spit until the water is gone. This helps cut down on harmful bacteria in your mouth and throat, reducing the effects of bad breath and plaque.

Stay home until you are feeling better and have been fever-free for 24 hours.  Then you are welcome to visit the best dentist in Evansville, IN.