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Mouthwash is brilliant for giving your teeth a bit of added protection for the day. There are loads of different brands out there promising fresh breath and additional resistance to plaque and other threats to your oral health.

You can experiment with different varieties of mouthwash to find your favourite. Not all flavours will be to your taste and some models offer different oral protection features.

Next time you visit your dentist, mention the mouthwash you are using as they may be able to advise you on whether this is a suitable brand, or whether something else would manage your teeth better.

Childhood fears and apprehensions are simply no excuse not to visit your dentist regularly. If you aren’t seeing your dentist at least once every six months, then your oral health could be in severe decline.

Decay and tooth damage will not get better on its own, so it is vital that you get your teeth checked out once in a while. Dental practices don’t keep people on their lists if they show no sign of attending, and once you’re off the list it can be really hard to find an NHS dentist when you eventually need one.

Don’t wait until your oral health declines to an expensive or irremediable level. Catch problems early by visiting your dentist frequently.

When you are out and about, you are likely to eat or drink something besides water at some point. You can hardly be expected to take a toothbrush with you wherever you go, and yet you can’t ignore your oral hygiene altogether when you’re out of the house.

Sometimes it is a question of having eaten or drank something that could potentially give you stale breath. On other occasions you are acutely aware that you’ve taken in a bit of sugar that could be acting negatively on your teeth all day.

In these events you should carry around a pack of sugar-free gum. Gum can freshen your breath in an instant and can help stimulate the production of saliva to neutralise acid on your teeth.

Your teeth are covered by a protective substance that is known as enamel. Enamel coats the surface of each tooth, but it needs to be preserved in order to ensure your teeth stay protected.

Certain foods and drinks can have a deleterious effect on your tooth enamel. Acidic drinks are the main culprits, including fizzy pop and sugary juices, including healthy, fresh fruit juice. Sweets are also a particular danger to tooth enamel.

If you can’t quit the sugary drinks and sweets, then one way you can combat enamel depletion is to neutralise the acid in your mouth with milk or water immediately afterwards. Brushing too soon after eating acidic foods only rubs more enamel away.

If you are a smoker or you enjoy your coffee and tea a little bit too much, your daily habits can start to have an effect on your teeth.

Regular brushing and flossing can’t quite compete with the intensive staining that coffee and cigarettes subject your teeth to, so if you can’t give up, then you have to be prepared to spend a little more on your oral health.

You can start by buying a gentle whitening toothpaste. You’ll find these in ready supply at your local chemists. If the damage is a little beyond the capabilities of these products, there are intensive whitening treatments on the market that could set you back anything from £10 to £100.