We have been brushing our teeth and flossing for years and years, but many of us are surprised to learn that we may not have been doing it correctly.
Research shows that this habit that we repeat several times a day, unfortunately, isn’t always completed correctly. So, daily oral hygiene is a pending subject for both the young and old. We have to improve brushing in terms of both the time we spend and our technique.
Did you know that a good brushing session takes at least three minutes? Most adults just do not brush for long enough. However, here I will share with you the best and easiest ways to help you remember how to take care of your mouth, teeth and gums!
Before explaining how brushing should be performed, it is necessary to highlight the importance of the toothbrush. First, you should know that both the electric brush and the manual brush, based on my point of view and professional experience, are equally valid.
In this article I will give you some simple guidelines, so that you can improve your brushing and also teach a good routine to the little ones. Investing three minutes at least twice a day in brushing your teeth and ensuring that your toothbrush is in good condition is vital. As a general rule, the toothbrush should be changed every three months, but maybe even earlier if you notice that it begins to wear out.
It is also very important to use a toothpaste that is right for you. Currently, there is a wide variety of toothpastes designed to prevent many complications, such as cavities, gingivitis, tartar, stained teeth and sensitivity. My advice is to ask your dentist or hygienist what the right toothpaste for you is. Personally, I am not a fan of using too much fluoride.
My advice is to use toothpaste moderately – a pea size amount is sufficient. I also have a wonderful trick that I will share with you... To avoid being overwhelmed by the minimum time required for brushing your teeth, you should use a small amount of toothpaste, never wet the bristles with water before, and start with only the brush and the toothpaste. Why? Because if we add too much quantity, it will generate excess foam, which on one hand does not favor cleaning, and on the other it will prevent us from reaching the three-minute mark. Which is what we agreed upon, right?
To make sure that we pay attention to all of our teeth, I like to divide the mouth into four groups (upper right/left sides and lower right/left sides). But the trick is to always follow the same order.
I have prepared some tips to help you improve and remember how to take care of your teeth and gums, which will have a positive effect on your overall health. Remember ... a healthy smile is worth a thousand words!
Brushing Routine
We will start by brushing the outer faces of the upper teeth, opening the mouth and placing the brush at a 45 ° angle with respect to the gum line and perpendicular to the tooth. When you have to brush the outer back of the teeth (I know it is a difficult access area), I have a little trick: open your mouth, place the brush so that it just reaches the top of the back teeth, and close your mouth with the brush inside of it. Then, you have enough space to start the circular movements of the brush.
It’s best to perform this several times (three to the right and three to the left on the same tooth). Obviously, we will touch more than one tooth with this, but the important thing is to focus tooth by tooth with these gentle circular movements, so that the brush bristles cover both the teeth and gums. Attention! It is very important to make this movement smooth and not to exert too much pressure on the gum. Brushing correctly is important in order to prevent damage to the gums. There are many people who came to my practice with receding gums due to aggressive brushing, so avoid brushing in a hurry...
We are already in the middle of our routine guys! Once we have dealt with the hygiene of the upper teeth, we continue with the lower ones.
First, we place the brush perpendicular to the tooth in the same order as before - starting with the most posterior teeth and ending with the central teeth.
Also, dental floss should be used once a day to clean the remains of food that may have been stuck between the teeth, and I recommend doing this during the night time. Here are some simple instructions to make sure we are on the same page: Take approximately 20 inches of dental floss from the dispenser or use dental floss picks. In the event that the spaces between the teeth are wider than the thickness of your dental floss, you should use an inter-proximal brush according to your specific dimensions.
Finally, remember to always brush the tongue from back to front (in a sweeping technique) to remove food residues adhering to it, eliminating the bad smell caused by bacteria.
Remember that home oral cleaning is not only essential to maintain good oral health, but also plays an important role in our general health.
I hope that from now on your daily oral hygiene routine becomes more pleasant!
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