Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your teeth! At Jamestown Dental we love teeth and believe they deserve the best preventive care. This means ensuring you take good care of your teeth by brushing twice a day, flossing daily and seeing your dentist every 6 months.
Just like relationships, it’s easy to take your teeth for granted but can you imagine how difficult it might be without your teeth. Your teeth make up your beautiful smile, help you to chew all your meals and help you to speak clearly and announciate words.
But just how do you brush your teeth? And what is the right way to floss?
Brushing
Many people struggle with knowing exactly the best way to perform basic oral hygiene tasks. For brushing it’s important to select a good toothbrush with a small toothbrush head with soft bristles and use a pea sized amount of fluoridated toothpaste. Brush systematically with your toothbrush bristles at the gumline at a 45° angle, brushing gently in a circular motion, and finishing by spitting out any excess toothpaste and not rinsing. If you have an electric toothbrush, move the brush head slowly from tooth to tooth following the contours of the tooth and the curve of the gums. This process should take around 2 minutes all up! If you are unsure about this we are happy to demonstrate good brushing tips to you at the clinic.
Also remember to change your toothbrush over regularly, around every 3 months (at the change of seasons is a good way to remember this) or when it starts to look frayed and worn. We also recommend changing your toothbrush if you have been unwell with a cold or flu to prevent re-infection.
Flossing
Flossing is an essential part of your oral hygiene regime. Brushing alone will miss plaque, food and bacteria on the surfaces between your teeth. When flossing ensure you cut a long enough length of floss, around 45cm, and wind it carefully around your middle fingers so you can use you index finger and thumb to guide and move the floss.
Gently guide the floss between your teeth in a sliding motion ensuring you don’t traumatise the gums. Gently guide the floss to the neck of the tooth and manipulate the floss under the gumline on the side of each tooth. This can be a bit tricky but with persistence and practice you will become a flossing expert!
Hopefully these tips help you to become an expert at taking care of your teeth.
Thank your teeth for all their hard work by booking them in for a check up and clean to keep them in great condition. They deserve it after all they do for you!