Proper Brushing and Flossing

Proper brushing and flossing is exceptionally important. By adopting a good oral hygiene plan at home, and sticking to it, you can significantly prolong the life of your teeth. Here are some points to remember:

• Brush and floss your teeth AT LEAST twice a day
• Use a soft bristled brush
• If you have problems holding onto the dental floss, buy a floss holder
• Replace your tooth brush every two to three months

By following these guidelines, you will reduce the risk of tooth decay and gum disease, as well as cavities, bad breath, and stained teeth.

Proper Brushing Technique

Starting on your top teeth, hold your tooth brush so that the bristles are gently resting on your teeth and the top of the bristles are against your gums. The tooth brush should be at a 45 degree angle. The bottoms of your teeth and the tooth brush should form an almost perfect triangle with the top (hard) portion of the tooth brush being about even with the bottoms of your top teeth, and the bristles angled against your teeth with the leading edge of the bristles actually brushing up against your gums. The purpose of this is to get the plaque that forms along, and just under your gum line, as well as the plaque on your teeth.

Now brush downward, moving the bristles away from your gum line, down toward the edge of your teeth. This moves the plaque away from the gum line.

Continue by brushing each and every upper tooth in this way. Once complete, brush the inner side of the upper teeth the same way. Next move to the lower teeth, and brush the inner and outer sides in exactly the same way as the top teeth.

Next brush the chewing surfaces of the teeth, moving the tooth brush horizontally back and forth.

Finally, brush the top of your tongue. Bacteria hides in the soft outer tissue of the tongue and promotes bad breath, also known as halitosis.

Brushing your teeth using the correct brushing technique will typically take from 2 to 3 minutes. Any less time than that and you are probably not brushing adequately.

After brushing, you will want to use dental floss to remove plaque and food particles from between your teeth.

Proper Flossing Technique

Measure an 18 inch strand of floss, and wrap each end around your middle fingers several times leaving about a one inch section which you will hold and guide with your index fingers.

Ease the floss between your teeth, move the floss up and down while wrapping the floss around your teeth slightly at the gum-line. Do not scrub.

Always floss behind the last tooth, unwrapping clean floss as you proceed.

Continue flossing until you have flossed every tooth in your mouth.