{"id":171,"date":"2020-03-28T15:06:49","date_gmt":"2020-03-28T15:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/?p=171"},"modified":"2020-04-28T15:06:57","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T15:06:57","slug":"oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Oral Hygiene Habits to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-172\" src=\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"dentist washing their hands\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With the recent COVID-19 outbreak, many people are living in constant fear of contracting the virus. People are wearing masks and gloves whenever they have to go out, washing their hands more than normal, and staying at least six feet away from others. But did you know there are a few other habits you can implement to help prevent the spread of the disease? Keep reading as a dentist lists a few <a href=\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/preventive-dentistry.html\">oral hygiene<\/a> habits you can take to keep your teeth, gums, and body healthy.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>1. Disinfect Your Toothbrush Weekly<\/h2>\n<p>At least once a week, give your toothbrush a deep cleaning by doing one of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Running your brush through a full dishwasher cycle<\/li>\n<li>Boiling your brush for five minutes<\/li>\n<li>Soaking both the brush and handle in a 70% alcohol solution<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>2. Wash Hands Before Brushing<\/h2>\n<p>We know that the virus is transmitted by touching your face, particularly your mouth. But what we often fail to consider is that your toothbrush touches your mouth. Make sure your hands are clean before you touch something that goes in your mouth.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Place Toothbrush in Open Container After Using<\/h2>\n<p>Don\u2019t store your toothbrush in a cabinet, drawer, or travel container. Damp, dark places like these can quickly become a breeding ground for germs. Additionally, if you\u2019re sharing a toothbrush holder, don\u2019t let brushes touch. Better yet, store each brush in a separate holder.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Don\u2019t Share Toothpaste or Floss<\/h2>\n<p>People can carry the virus for several days before displaying symptoms. Thus, sharing a tube of toothpaste or a container of floss could transmit the disease to anyone you\u2019re living with. You and your family are much better off if everyone has their own oral hygiene products.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Replace Your Toothbrush If You Get Sick<\/h2>\n<p>Even if all you have is a mild cold or bacterial infection, it\u2019s more beneficial to switch to a new toothbrush after you recover from getting sick. If you don\u2019t, then the germs from your old toothbrush could infect you all over again. Your immune system might then have a harder time fighting off the coronavirus if it\u2019s already busy working against whatever infection you previously had.<\/p>\n<h2>6. Practice Social Distancing While Brushing<\/h2>\n<p>Whenever you brush your teeth, bacteria from your mouth enter the air around you. For this reason, it\u2019s best to stand six feet apart if you brush your teeth at the same time as your partner. You\u2019re both better off brushing at different times.<\/p>\n<p>With the widespread panic surrounding COVID-19, it\u2019s helpful to be as calm as possible in these trying times. By practicing these oral hygiene habits, you can decrease your chances of contracting the virus, as well as keep your teeth and gums extra clean and healthy.<\/p>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/meet-dr-koenitzer.html\">Dr. Bob Koenitzer<\/a> is a graduate of the University of California at San Francisco, often considered the number one dental school in the U.S. He has been voted Best Dentist in Petaluma, CA six years in a row. Due to the coronavirus, his practice is currently only open to treating emergency patients. If you think you have a dental emergency, such as a toothache or broken tooth, don\u2019t hesitate to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/contact-us.html\">contact<\/a> Dr. Koenitzer at (707) 766-6666.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the recent COVID-19 outbreak, many people are living in constant fear of contracting the virus. People are wearing masks and gloves whenever they have to go out, washing their hands more than normal, and staying at least six feet away from others. But did you know there are a few other habits you can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dentist | Habits to Prevent COVID-19 | Dr. Bob Koenitzer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you want to avoid contracting COVID-19? Here are six habits from a dentist that you can implement to keep your mouth and body cleaner.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dentist | Habits to Prevent COVID-19 | Dr. Bob Koenitzer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you want to avoid contracting COVID-19? Here are six habits from a dentist that you can implement to keep your mouth and body cleaner.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bob Koenitzer DDS Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-28T15:06:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-28T15:06:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"petalumasmilesteam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"petalumasmilesteam\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/\",\"name\":\"Dentist | Habits to Prevent COVID-19 | Dr. Bob Koenitzer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-28T15:06:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-28T15:06:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9b877433c2bd44fe81cd7fe743d26642\"},\"description\":\"Do you want to avoid contracting COVID-19? Here are six habits from a dentist that you can implement to keep your mouth and body cleaner.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":534,\"caption\":\"dentist washing their hands\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"6 Oral Hygiene Habits to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Bob Koenitzer DDS Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9b877433c2bd44fe81cd7fe743d26642\",\"name\":\"petalumasmilesteam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcf9eaf4b6d7f6cd73e1691720ce58d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcf9eaf4b6d7f6cd73e1691720ce58d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"petalumasmilesteam\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/author\/petalumasmilesteam\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dentist | Habits to Prevent COVID-19 | Dr. Bob Koenitzer","description":"Do you want to avoid contracting COVID-19? Here are six habits from a dentist that you can implement to keep your mouth and body cleaner.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dentist | Habits to Prevent COVID-19 | Dr. Bob Koenitzer","og_description":"Do you want to avoid contracting COVID-19? Here are six habits from a dentist that you can implement to keep your mouth and body cleaner.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/","og_site_name":"Bob Koenitzer DDS Blog","article_published_time":"2020-03-28T15:06:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-04-28T15:06:57+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886-300x200.jpg"}],"author":"petalumasmilesteam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"petalumasmilesteam","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/","url":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/","name":"Dentist | Habits to Prevent COVID-19 | Dr. Bob Koenitzer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-28T15:06:49+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-28T15:06:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9b877433c2bd44fe81cd7fe743d26642"},"description":"Do you want to avoid contracting COVID-19? Here are six habits from a dentist that you can implement to keep your mouth and body cleaner.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_294173292__1576855962_60886.jpg","width":800,"height":534,"caption":"dentist washing their hands"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/28\/oral-hygiene-habits-prevent-spread-dentist\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"6 Oral Hygiene Habits to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/","name":"Bob Koenitzer DDS Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9b877433c2bd44fe81cd7fe743d26642","name":"petalumasmilesteam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcf9eaf4b6d7f6cd73e1691720ce58d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcf9eaf4b6d7f6cd73e1691720ce58d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"petalumasmilesteam"},"url":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/author\/petalumasmilesteam\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173,"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petalumasmiles.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}