An emergency dentist is the best port of call if you suddenly find yourself with damaged teeth from an impact or if you're fretting over a loose filling. These instances are unfortunate and often unpredictable, however, you can do something about your oral health on a daily basis to reduce the risk of other issues that can build up over time. Infections and poor hygiene can easily be prevented, and in this day and age where organic products are widely popular, making your own oral hygiene products is both cheap and fun.

Toothpaste

Try making your own products, particularly if you eat organic and are conscious about harmful additives. As a basic no effort toothpaste, baking soda alone works well; it's PH-balanced and mildly abrasive which will help to clean teeth and remove stains. If you wish to be a bit more adventurous and make something that your children will be more open to using, try mixing equal amounts of coconut oil and baking soda. The coconut oil will help the baking soda to stick to the teeth whilst it's being brushed and improves the flavour. You can even take it up a notch and add a few drops of essential oil such as lavender or peppermint to make it taste even better. Approximately 25 drops per six tablespoons of coconut oil should do the trick according to Family Sponge. All you need to do is store it in an airtight jar and use when needed, you can even make smaller batches and flavour them differently for different days of the week. 

Mouthwash

If you've taken the time to make your own toothpaste, why not make your own mouthwash as well? There are many different recipes out there but as a rule of thumb they generally require 250ml filtered water, two drops of tee tree oil, two drops of a flavouring essential oil and two teaspoons of baking soda. The filtered water will act as the liquid base and will have some of the impurities removed to make it healthier, whilst the tee tree oil will act as an anti-bacterial agent to kill of the bacterial that forms within the gaps of the teeth. The essential oil will add flavour; a popular choice is peppermint as it's refreshing and can help with bad breath. Finally the baking soda will create a PH-balanced liquid that is mildly abrasive. 

For more information, talk to a dentist.