If you are like most people, you’ve been brushing your teeth since you were a child. However, our North York family dentist team thinks that you might have been doing it the wrong way. There’s a lot more to brushing your teeth correctly than you might have imagined.
Here’s a few best brushing tips you might have missed.
Take Your Time (The Right Amount!)
Proper oral hygiene is about making sure that you time yourself. Most of us understand that we need to put a little block of time aside in the morning and evening to brush our teeth. However, the amount of time that you actually use the brush inside your mouth is critical.
Our North York family dentist team likes to tell our patients that proper brushing takes around two minutes. If you cut corners and time, you’re more than likely going to miss some teeth and perhaps even cause yourself a few dental issues down the road.
Here’s an excellent tip. An electric toothbrush often comes with a timer to make the whole process simpler. You can even look for an app on your smartphone.
Brush Your Tongue
Here’s another interesting little tidbit that you might get to file under the ‘did not know that’ category. One of the places where bacteria likes to hide in your mouth is on your tongue. Making sure that you have an outstanding oral hygiene routine means brushing your tongue and your teeth.
It’s not as hard as it might sound. You can use a soft bristle toothbrush or even by a tongue scraper. Besides getting rid of all that nasty bacteria, your breath will also smell fresher.
Making sure that you have enough time to do everything properly is also very important. We’ve talked to a lot of patients who rush through their oral hygiene routine, and we like to tell them they’re more than likely pay for that in the end.
Block of Time
Put together a nice block of time, get yourself the right tools and formulate a plan of attack. There’s another interesting part and of course that’s technique. Brushing too fast and pushing too hard can actually do more harm than good. We’ve seen many cases of gum disease start with overenthusiastic brushers who push a little too hard and use of firm bristle toothbrush
Choose the Right Foods
When you come in and talk to our North York family dentist specialists, they want you to leave with all the information you need about a good oral hygiene routine. We are only too happy to share all the information with everyone in your family. We will help you with the right techniques for brushing and even suggest the right kind of toothbrush.
We can also suggest some foods that actually help to clean your teeth while you eat them. Most fruits and vegetables act like this. Chewing on a carrot for instance can help you knock down any plaque that’s building up on your teeth. As well, if you’re looking to put a stop to the kind of bacteria that can cause problems consider sugarless gum.
Stay Engaged
The last tip is about staying engaged with your dentist. It’s important they know what’s working for you and what isn’t doing the job when it comes to brushing and flossing. Having a comprehensive oral care plan means getting rid of what doesn’t work and expanding on what does.
It’s important to team up with your dental professional so that you can achieve your oral health goals. Our North York family dentist is always available to help.