{"id":225,"date":"2019-12-02T20:02:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T20:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/?p=225"},"modified":"2020-01-02T20:02:37","modified_gmt":"2020-01-02T20:02:37","slug":"keep-your-teeth-clean-with-national-handwashing-awareness-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/02\/keep-your-teeth-clean-with-national-handwashing-awareness-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Your Teeth Clean with National Handwashing Awareness Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"person<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do you remember being a little kid and your parents telling\nyou to wash up before dinner? Did you ever think it was strange that they never\ntold you to wash your hands before eating breakfast, lunch, or a snack? Since\ngerms don\u2019t care what meal you\u2019re about to have, it\u2019s crucial to wash your\nhands before you place your hands anywhere near your mouth, such as when you\u2019re\neating. Because the first week of December is National Handwashing Awareness\nWeek, now is the perfect time to learn from a dentist<\/a>\nhow best to keep your hands clean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to Celebrate National Handwashing Awareness Week <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are three main ways to celebrate this month in style:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn the Four Principles of Hand Awareness <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The four principles, which have been endorsed by both the\nAmerican Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Association,\nare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Wash your hands when they are dirty and before\neating.<\/li>
  2. Don\u2019t cough into your hands.<\/li>
  3. Don\u2019t sneeze into your hands. <\/li>
  4. Don\u2019t put your fingers near your eyes, nose, or\nmouth. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Memorize the Five Steps <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    There are five basic steps to handwashing, which are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Wet.<\/li>
    2. Lather.<\/li>
    3. Scrub.<\/li>
    4. Rinse.<\/li>
    5. Dry. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Use the Right Techniques <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Experts recommend washing your hands with clean water and\nsoap for at least 20 seconds. Once you get a good lather going, make sure you scrub\nthe back of your hands as well as between your fingers and under your nails. Use\na clean towel to dry them off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Why It\u2019s Important to Have Clean Hands <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Handwashing has been called a \u201cdo-it-yourself vaccine\u201d by\nthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and for good reason. According\nto the CDC, washing your hands can prevent one in five infections, including the\nflu. At this time of year, that is critical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We tend to put our hands in and around our mouths all the\ntime, even though we really shouldn\u2019t. If you don\u2019t wash the bacteria you touch\non a regular basis off of your hands, that bacteria could get in your mouth and\ncause infection, not to mention dental problems such as gum disease and tooth\ndecay. This is why your dentist says it\u2019s crucial to celebrate National Handwashing\nAwareness Week, not just this week but year-round. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      About the Author <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Dr.\nDan Maurer<\/a> earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine from the University of Colorado\nSchool of Dental Medicine. He followed in his father\u2019s footsteps by practicing\nat Longmont Complete Dentistry in Longmont, CO. His patients admire him for his\nfriendliness and unwavering dedication to finding personalized and pain-free\ntreatment for their dental problems. To learn more tips on how to keep your\nteeth clean, contact\nDr. Dan\u2019s office<\/a> at (303) 772-7000. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Do you remember being a little kid and your parents telling you to wash up before dinner? Did you ever think it was strange that they never told you to wash your hands before eating breakfast, lunch, or a snack? Since germs don\u2019t care what meal you\u2019re about to have, it\u2019s crucial to wash your […]<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227,"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions\/227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.longmontcompletedentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}