There are many different techniques for brushing and flossing. But, most people don’t know that there is a right and a wrong way to brush and floss your teeth. Today I want to go over the dos and don’ts of brushing and flossing.
Brushing
Most of you already know that you need to brush your teeth at least twice a day in order to keep up proper dental hygiene and avoid cavities. There are many different ways that people brush their teeth, but there are some guidelines that everyone should follow to get the best results from brushing at home.
1. Most people do not brush their teeth long enough. It is recommended that you brush your teeth for a whole two minutes.
2. Be gentle with your teeth. If you brush your teeth too vigorously, you may start to wear down the enamel on the teeth.
3. Ensure you brush all sides of your teeth. Often, people only brush the front part of their teeth as this is the side that everyone sees. But, you do need to reach around and get the back side and the ends of the molars. This is where a lot of tooth decay can start.
Flossing
The parts of your teeth that you can’t reach with brushing, you need to floss. If you don’t brush and floss all parts of the tooth, you will start to build up plaque. This plaque can lead to further complication and loss of teeth. Many people do not know how to properly floss. I want to go over some key points to proper flossing.
1. Use a long piece of floss, approximately 18 inches has been found to be ideal. This way, you have plenty of clean floss to use when you get to a new section of the mouth. You want to use a fresh section of floss as you go.
2. When you are flossing you need to glide the floss against one tooth and then also glide the floss against the adjacent tooth by following the shape of the teeth as you go.
If your gums bleed while flossing, this is an early sign of gingivitis. You should see a dentist to get this checked out, but you should also continue with a regiment of brushing and flossing each day. Proper dental hygiene at home is very crucial to dental health.