Proper Toothbrushing Techniques

To make sure that you have clean teeth that will both look good and be healthy, you must ensure that all areas of the teeth and gums are covered.

What are the proper tooth brushing techniques?

To make sure that you have clean teeth that will both look good and be healthy, you must ensure that all areas of the teeth and gums are covered. The faster these positive habits are taught to your children the better the outcome of their future dental awareness is protecting against dental treatment. There are not many new dental tips to learn, but once you do learn it will become like second nature every time you brush your teeth.

Firstly, you should make sure that you have a good quality toothbrush. Whether it is a soft regular manual toothbrush or a soft electrical toothbrush the most important part is the bristles are soft. Oral B and Sonicare electric toothbrushes are highly recommended researched aids on the dental market and choosing whichever fits your style will work for your benefit. The toothbrush should be held in a specific way, and that is at a forty-five degree angle. There is no need to be harsh when cleaning, as gentle movements will be just as effective. There should be short circular strokes made – each one should be about the same width as a tooth.

Angle the toothbrush so that it is slanted towards the gums. Move the toothbrush across the teeth with movements that are about half an inch at the time. The outer and inner surfaces need to be reached as well – in fact – make sure none of the teeth are missed. A big mistake that a lot of people make is to only brush the part of the teeth that everyone can see. When this is done, there are a lot of places where bacteria can hide, and then the problems will start. Make sure that the inside of the teeth is reached as well as . The top may only be a small piece, but bacteria can settle there, and it can be difficult to get rid of them once they take over.

The final part is to have one last cleaning movement over the back of the teeth. Here the brush needs to be tilted again and all areas should be covered. Vertical strokes are what is needed, and the problem bacteria should be removed. If you feel that you can brush your tongue, then do that as well. Bacteria can live there, and this will remove them. Regardless of whether you can brush your tongue, use a mouthwash as that may not help clean your teeth, but will keep the bacteria away and should always be part of your cleaning regime.

How Do These Brushing Techniques Help?

The main reason for learning about teeth cleaning techniques is to make sure that you always clean them correctly. It may not seem important if you hold the toothbrush at a forty five degree angle, but it can make a big difference to the final outcome.  If teeth are not kept clean, there can be a few problems encountered. Firstly, there will be bits of food left in the mouth, and over the period of a day or so this can start to go off. Once this happens, your breath will not be fresh, and the tooth can start to decay. The longer the teeth are brushed incorrectly, the worse both issues will become. While breath can eventually be improved through correct cleaning, the damage that has been done to the teeth cannot be reversed only corrected through dental procedures.

Who is affected by poor oral hygiene?

Any person who has teeth and poor oral hygiene habits needs to learn how to brush and floss their teeth. A lot can be done at home to save teeth from cavities, bad breath, and dental infections. This includes children, teenagers and adults and home care is as important as regular dental checkups and cleanings. It should be easy to find out highly recommended way to clean your teeth these days. Websites and dental features will explain what is needed and what you must do to get highly recommended results. If you follow the guidelines carefully there should less dental problems noted. The one thing you do however need to remember is to check the reason why the articles may appear. Once you have experienced the problems with improperly cleaned teeth – first or second hand – you will want to ensure that you never have to experience it again.

Some articles are going to be health related and will give highly recommended advice. Others will be promoting a product, so may suggest that certain products will be better than others. This does not mean that they are wrong; just that you should be away treat the information as what it might be – an advert to encourage you to buy rather than a fully researched article on highly recommended way to keep your teeth clean.

What do you need to clean your teeth effectively?

Questions are asked as to whether an electric toothbrush is better than a manual one.  Most dental practitioners will tell you that electric toothbrushes do a lot more than manual ones – but it is also up to how well you brush. It will be what you feel is best and providing all areas of the teeth and gums are cleaned it will be fine, whatever you choose. Knowing what toothbrush bristle style whether soft, medium, or hard is important – always soft is needed or else recession or sensitivity pain can start because of hard brushing. Usually a small head is better along with a variety of long and short bristles. Using one that has soft  bristle head will be gently enough for your teeth and gums but strong enough to remove plaque and food debris from you mouth. The electrical toothbrushes have an oscillating head will reach the places you need it to with more complex movement that will only help your oral health.

When it comes to toothpaste, it is not just the fact that is has fluoride, but the amount involved. For an adult, it should be one that has 1350 parts per million of fluoride. Children will be able to use family toothpaste, so there is no need to look for toothpaste that is claiming to be better for children than ordinary toothpaste. The only advantage may be the taste if it is flavored as performance will not be any different. Otherwise the most important feature of brushing your teeth is the action and removal of the bacteria, food debris, and plaque from the teeth and gums.

What are the signs that you need to learn how to brush your teeth?

The main sign will be bad breath or bleeding gums. Foul mouth breath can easily occur to those who don’t brush their teeth at all and those who do it poorly. As well as bad breath, you can notice a sticky substance covering the surface of your teeth (called plaque). If you still don’t act, plaque will become calculus or tarter. This is a yellowish, hardened substance that is difficult to remove with just your toothbrush and toothpaste.  You might notice signs of early gum disease if you oral health is poor. This can lead to infections in the gums which is why the gums start bleeding which means it is time to go the dentist. But if you learn how to clean your mouth, the main outcome will be teeth and gums that are clean and healthy. It does not have to cost a lot or take a lot of time to learn good teeth cleaning techniques and you will appreciate the effort you took to not only keep your teeth healthy, but also white and clean. Ask us here at URBN Dental for any more tips for keeping your oral hygiene highly recommended it can be.

Tooth Brushing FAQs

How important is brushing your teeth?
Brushing your teeth properly is the first direction that any dentist will give you towards good oral hygiene. Considering the amount of food we eat daily, it becomes really necessary that we brush at least twice every day. Let us tell you why it is really important.
Food that you eat does not all go into your stomach. A lot of small particles can get stuck in between your teeth, on their bases against the gums, or simply behind them at times. This food, if not brushed off, eventually degrades within the mouth, giving off a bad odor. Since this decomposition is happening because of bacteria, your mouth becomes a breeding colony for them. It is these bacteria that tend to give off the bad odor that might be coming from your mouth.
The bacteria actively work to change all those food particles in your mouth to a sticky substance called plaque. So far, the situation is pretty bad, and if care is not taken, it tends to get even worse. Acids within plaque start to damage the teeth, especially the protective enamel layer around them, and your gums. This then subsequently leads to problems like cavities, dental sepsis, gum disease, and tooth decay. Eventually, these can finish off a tooth, leaving you with no choice but to get it extracted before it spreads to other teeth in your mouth.

Only a small act like brushing these teeth regularly can prevent so much of these problems. While tooth decay is one problem, its spreading goes on to form dental cavities, which is holes forming inside your teeth because bacteria is eating away on it. We discussed earlier how bacteria could give off bad odor in your mouth; this bad breath can also be easily avoided if you simply do brush twice every single day.

While it has only been damage to teeth in particular that we have been discussing, not brushing your teeth for long periods can also lead to gum disease. While long spells of not brushing your teeth lead to the onset of gum disease, it can very well form into a serious condition if not treated immediately.

Brushing your teeth is also very important because it reduces the risk of many infections including tooth abscess, which can be very painful. Abscess generally forms because the amount of bacteria has multiplied to dangerous levels, and are affecting the teeth at such a hard level that it continually hurts in pangs.

All dentists recommend brushing your teeth two times daily, for around two minutes each. This makes sure that the teeth remain strong and the gums stay in their optimum condition too. A lot of toothpaste today have fluoride in them, which provides an added protective layer to the teeth, which prevents the formation of plaque.

What could be the consequences of brushing only once a week?
The answer to this is quite simple. Even if you brush and floss daily, you are bound to miss out on a few particles stuck between your teeth. Only brushing once a week means that in addition to those particles, you are also letting so many particles settle at the base of your teeth, which will not be cleaned until the next week. These particles then proceed to form plaque, which eventually turns into tartar. If you do not visit a dentist and brush regularly, you are bound to lose a lot of teeth to decay and cavities.
How does one floss their teeth when they have braces?
Floss threaders with waxed floss are the way to go when you need to floss with your braces. It might sound complicated, but it is very easy in practice. Just like regular flossing, you need to gently slide the floss thread in the gum line, and just as easily take it out, making minimal contact with the wires of the braces.
Is brushing three times a day too much (over brushing)?
Over brushing can be a big problem in the long run, although it does look like a healthy habit at first. For starters, you must know that there is a thin protective layer of enamel covering your teeth. This tends to erode at the hands of over brushing, leading to largely sensitive teeth. Over brushing can also cause receding gums, causing your teeth to look overly large, and unprotected.
Is flossing bad for your gums and teeth?
Let us address that misconception once and for all; it is not. Flossing is a very efficient way of ensuring that your teeth are clean and remain healthy for a long time. For starters, it does not erode teeth the way brushing or over brushing might. It is one of highly recommended ways of getting food out from between teeth, and lastly, some floss contains fluoride, which adds an extra protective layer to your teeth.
How long are you supposed to brush your teeth?
Brushing is the most important activity in terms of one’s oral health. Dentists recommend brushing your teeth for at least two minutes in one go. This is supposed to be done twice every day. Optimum timings would be after breakfast, and after dinner. For these two minutes, one should be brushing the chewing sides, the inner sides, as well as the outer, visible sides of the teeth.
Why do fruits taste so bad after brushing your teeth?
It is mainly because of SLS, also known as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is a compound present in every other toothpaste. Various researches have shown that SLS dampens the receptive sensors, which detect sweet flavors on your tongue. This is why fruits, and particularly orange juice tastes so bad right after brushing your teeth. The citric acid from the OJ also plays an important role here.
Proper tooth brushing techniques ultima modifica: 2019-10-23T05:44:27-06:00 da Houston Dentist