Are You Brushing Your Teeth Properly??
If you really want to clean your teeth properly, just brushing or a simple back and forth or up and down motion doesn’t completely help. If you have ever brushed your teeth and still having a fuzzy feel, this is a classic sign that you might have not brushed your teeth properly. While this might mean you’re stuck with food deposits or pellicle and it has the potential to create cavities or gum disease.
“Like many things in life, it’s all about mastering the proper brushing technique and you’ll likely be the master of a winning smile”.
Direction Matters
As we have said before, just back and forth brushing is not going to help, it just doesn’t do the job. Tooth brushing and its techniques are very particular, you should hold your brush at a 45 degree angle and then use short strokes moving away from the gum-line to clean the deposits inside your gums. Long, side to side strokes, JUST FORGET ABOUT IT !
Make sure you’ve really cleaned every corner of the tooth by brushing inner, outer and chewing surfaces of both rows of teeth. Apply firm pressure, you actually shouldn’t apply as much pressure to brush as you think, a lighter touch will do the job best as it keeps the bristles upright. It’s also important to make those bristles clean all the gaps in your teeth, this process shouldn’t be hard if you’re already following the above mentioned techniques. Last but not the least, you’ll need to clean your tongue in your routine so you get rid of any nagging bacteria.
For How Much Time You Are Brushing ? It Matters!!
Philosophical life debate & brushing your teeth, aren’t the same that you want to skimp on time. You need brush at least two minutes (120 seconds) with proper tooth brushing technique to walk away with a bright and healthy smile. Brushing your teeth more than twice a day should be completely avoided, in fact that might be doing more harm than good by damaging your tooth surfaces due to abrasion and can potentially injure gums as well.
Correct Tools For Correct Technique
At the end of the day, if a proper toothbrush is missing and because of that the techniques are missing, even if you are brushing twice a day, its a work with no results!
The size of your mouth and your age is in direct relation with the brush which you are using. The bigger your mouth the bigger the brush. A small mouth, however, will not necessarily benefit from a bigger brush, as the bigger size bristles might not be able to get to all the nooks and corners of your mouth, and it’s of no use!
Part of keeping your toothbrush in proper shape comes from ample storage – leaving it out on the sink exposes it to airborne germs, like the ones that are sent into the air when you flush the toilet. Keep your brush in a drawer, or better yet, move it to another room all together.
Perhaps a manual toothbrush isn’t your thing – have you ever thought about trying out an electric toothbrush? This is a good solution for those who might be growing nervous about the consequences of poor technique, as electronic brushes do all the work for you. It is certainly worth looking into.
If you need more tips on how to brush your teeth, or realize that it’s about time you’ve had a professional teeth cleaning make an appointment with us at Roots & Dentistree today.