Ten Tips For Cleaning Your Teeth
According to experts, very few people brush their teeth as well as they should. All dentists agree, cleaning will remove the bacteria and most plaque from your teeth and gums that can cause gum disease and tooth decay.
Here are some tips that the team have put together for our readers to ponder:
1. Pick the right brush.
From the array of tooth brushes to choose from make sure your brush can cover the places that need cleaning. That’s everywhere you should be able to reach with a toothbrush. It can be a power toothbrush or a manual one, but it must have soft bristles. Hard bristles and vigorous cleaning can permanently damage gums and actually wear down your tooth structure.
The size of the tooth brush’s head is an important consideration too, especially if you have a smaller mouth. Brushes come in all shapes and sizes, with handles of different length and different angles. Some are more flexible while others are ridged
2. Don’t go to town on your teeth.
When it comes to brushing, just as harder bristles is not better, harder brushing isn’t better either.
Dentists say that the biggest issues that people have is that they try to brush their teeth too hard. They feel that there needs to be a vigorous effort but plaque is soft and loose, so you don’t have to scrub like you are removing barnacles. Dentists recommend the thought of massaging your teeth as the right approach.
3. Dont rush.
You should brush at least twice a day for at least 2 minutes each time.
This is where the modern electric tooth brush is great as it has riming pulses built in for telling you when to move on to each new section of teeth. It creates a good habit of not rushing.
4. Replace your tooth brush regularly.
When you find a good toothbrush, it’s sometimes hard to give it up. But when you see the bristles starting to look discolored, bent, or dirty looking then it’s time to chuck the brush. The timing of this varies from person to person.
It is also smart not to share your brush with anyone else. And keep it in the open air, dry and clean to keep mold or bacteria from growing on it when it’s wet.
5. Cleaning strokes.
Think massage, not scrubbing your teeth.
Start from the gum, and go up and down, in little circular, up-and-down motions.
Aggressive backwards and forwards scrubbing will cause damage. Be careful of your teeth and gums to ensure they last and are not simply rubbed away.
Don’t forget to brush your tongue also, too. That’ll get rid of bacteria.
6. Don’t forget the gums.
Bacteria often settle in where your tooth meets your gum. People miss that area a lot. The gentle up and down tooth brush motions, in little circular, up-and-down massaging strokes will be enough to clean this bacteria away.
7. What angle should the brush be?
It is recommended that the angle of the brush be at a 45-degrees against the gum line. This is particularly important to get the gum line.
You will need to tilt the brush up and down to get the inside of your top and bottom front teeth.
8. Mouth acid after eating.
It’s recommended to rinse out your mouth with some water, to get rid of some of the acid that is created at the time of eating something.
You can wait 15 to 20 minutes and the body naturally neutralises this this acid.
9. Flossing.
Just as brushing your teeth at least twice a day, for least 2 minutes each time is important, so is flossing your teeth at least once a day.
10. Mouth wash.
Just as brushing and flossing your teeth is important, so is rinsing your teeth at least once a day with a high-quality mouth wash. The more we do to remove bacteria the healthier our teeth and gums will be to serve us for years to come.
Need a Sydney dentist?
The team at Wild Oak recommend if you are in Sydney Smile Concepts is a cool dentist to check out. They are one of the most trusted dental practices in Sydney, if not the best Sydney dentist with expertise in all areas of implant, veneer and general dentistry. They strongly believe in their patients having a beautiful smile & natural teeth for life.
Their caring and dedicated team, with over 40 years of combined experience, offer the latest dentistry technology in a modern and relaxed environment.
They believe in individualised care with all treatment being tailored to the particular wants and needs of each patient. All treatment is performed to the highest standards of precision, with the highest quality of materials, and by people with the highest level of skill, integrity, and concern for the client’s wellbeing.
For more information on Smile Concepts, and their range of dental services, visit their website here: https://www.smileconcepts.com.au/