Our dentists are often asked, “How do I brush and floss my teeth correctly?”
And while we know that brushing and flossing may seem simple, it’s surprising how many people get it wrong.
To ensure a healthy and lasting smile, we recommend a mixture of personal oral hygiene care and professional dental attention. Your personal dental hygiene care should involve a tooth-friendly diet and brushing and flossing your teeth regularly. However, oral hygiene measures are only effective when they are done correctly.
Here is a quick that will help you in becoming a pro when it comes to brushing and flossing.
How Do I Brush My Teeth Correctly?
The American Dental Association offers the following tips for brushing your teeth correctly:
- Hold your toothbrush gently and place it at a 45-degree angle to your teeth. Gently move the toothbrush back and forth in tooth wide and circular strokes.
- Clean the outer surfaces of the teeth in this way, followed by the inner and, finally, the biting surfaces of the teeth.
- While brushing the inner surfaces of the front teeth, you should tilt the brush vertically and gently move the brush up and down to ensure optimal cleaning.
Here are a few things that you must take care of while brushing your teeth:
- Take your Time – haste makes waste – take your time while brushing your teeth. Our top Chicago Dentists at ABC Dental recommend that spending at least two minutes brushing your teeth. This will ensure that all the tooth surfaces have been thoroughly cleaned, and the chances of development of teeth cavities will be minimized.
- Be Gentle – this is a common misconception that the more force you apply while brushing, the better is the cleaning. In fact, when you use too much force, it results in damage to the enamel, making the teeth weaker and sensitive to hot and cold. Not only this, the gums start to recede from their position and expose the roots.
- Brush the Tongue Too – while brushing, don’t forget your tongue! When you are done cleaning your teeth, scrub your tongue with your toothbrush to remove any food particles and bacteria that can cause bad breath.
How Do I Floss Correctly?
Flossing removes plaque and tartar deposits from your teeth where the bristles of a toothbrush are unable to penetrate. Research has shown that if you skip flossing, you are leaving one-third surfaces of your teeth unclean.
Here’s how you can do flossing like a pro:
- Pull 18-24 inches of dental floss and wrap it around your index and middle finger, while leaving a space of about 2 inches between your hands.
- Slide the floss between the teeth and gently move it around the tooth and the under the gumline while making C-shape in a push and pull and upwards and backward motion.
- In this way, floss each tooth, including the molars. Take a new thread if you feel that the previous one has become worn.
- As in brushing, be gentle. Try to not jam the floss up into your gums.
Recent research has shown that flossing before brushing your teeth is more effective in keeping your teeth clean and preventing them from cavities and periodontal problems.
No matter how meticulous you are in brushing and flossing, these measures alone may not be enough to prevent dental problems completely. Therefore, you must visit us regularly for a checkup so that we diagnose dental problems in their early stages and treat them before they can cause damage.