How to improve your oral hygiene habits

The key to proper oral hygiene, in addition to technique and materials, is consistency. But sometimes, when faced with a change in the state of our mouth, for example, if we have had an implant or have developed periodontal disease, we have to change the hygiene habits we had ingrained or incorporate a new one into our routine. And this, although it may not seem so, is often difficult.

Fortunately, in this video BJ Fogg, an expert in human behavior who teaches on the subject at Stanford University, shows us in a practical way how to introduce changes in our behavior. Here is the video and a summary of the main ideas. The secret to changing behavior is not to want to make big changes, but to change small habits at a time. Forget about big changes.

The first thing we must do so that the habit we want to change becomes fixed is to celebrate it every time we perform the action. A small mental congratulation, a word of encouragement, a dance in front of the mirror… Any reaction that makes us feel that we have achieved our goal, no matter how small.

We must keep in mind that changing a habit is not as complicated as people think, it is a matter of being systematic.

If we talk about health-related habits, we should focus on the habit that leads to the result, not the result itself. For example, if we want to have a cleaner and healthier mouth, we should focus on flossing every day. This should be our focus.

To change a behavior requires three elements: a certain degree of motivation, the ability to do it and a trigger. If the change is difficult in terms of capacity (we think it will be difficult to do it), we will need a high level of motivation; but if we consider the task we want to carry out to be easy, we will not require too much motivation.

And what can we use as a trigger? The most effective is to use another existing habit, and place the new habit right after it. Thus, the existing habit will work as a trigger for the new habit. For example, if we have to floss our teeth, we can do it right after brushing, a habit we already have acquired.

Small new habits will become easier and easier over time. We simply need to keep in mind that “if we plant a seed in the right place, it will grow on its own”.