When we speak about good dental hygiene, two basic things
come to mind: brushing and flossing. These are the most common ways on
how people take care of their teeth and gums. However, what you may not
know is when these methods are performed incorrectly; they may end up
doing our oral health more harm than good. In the following, let's talk
about the steps on how to brush and floss properly.
First, it is best that you choose a toothbrush that has soft bristle.
This will lessen the possibility of damaging both the tooth enamel and
the gums. Harder bristles may make you feel cleaner, but they can end up
scraping the teeth and gums too.
Second, hold the brush at a 45-degree angle against the gum line. Start
brushing from here to the chewing surface using short, up and down
strokes. Make sure that you brush gently so as not to cause the gums to
recede or make the tooth too sensitive in the long run.
Third, don't forget to clean the inner surfaces of your teeth. When you
do this for the top and bottom front sets, hold the brush in an almost
vertical position and move back and forth.
Fourth, when you go to the chewing surface, sweep as you tip the
bristles into the crevices of your teeth. These areas are crucial
because bacteria hide and multiply in them.
When you're done with all the teeth, focus on the tongue. This harbors a
lot of bacteria too, so you have to ensure that it's as clean as it can
be. Brush it gently using a forward-sweeping stroke. Then, do the same
to the roof of your mouth.
Remember that in order to attain good dental hygiene, you must brush this way for three minutes, twice a day.
Let's now move forward to flossing.
Flossing is important for good oral hygiene because brushing
doesn't remove 100% of all the food particles left on and in between the
teeth. In order to achieve maximum cleanliness, you must floss.
The kind of floss you're going to use would mainly depend on how much
space there is in between your teeth. The floss that is not waxed is
thinner so you might want to use it if you have small spaces in between.
All in all, the thickness (or thinness) of a floss doesn't affect its
effectiveness anyway.
Now, on to the process: Insert the floss in between two teeth. Carefully
bring it to the gum line and curve it around the tooth edge as if
making a letter "C". Slide it up and down for each side of each tooth
until you finish everything. This may sound painfully long but when you
get used to it, you'll realize it's even quicker than brushing.
These are your guidelines in brushing and flossing. If good dental hygiene
is what you want, then, these are the things you must know and put into
practice. Bear in mind that it's not enough to brush and floss. You
must do them properly to get the expected results.
