ORAL HYGIENE
Oral Hygiene
Excellent oral hygiene starts with a healthy brushing and flossing routine, so we’ve got a few tips and tricks to help you keep your entire family’s oral health up to scratch.
How To Brush Your Teeth Properly
There’s a bit more to good dental hygiene than simply brushing twice a day. Make sure you’ve chosen a soft or extra-soft brush, so the bristles aren’t abrasive to your teeth or gums. Overzealous scrubbing can cause excessive wear and gum recession, so apply just enough pressure to cause gentle blanching in your gums.
When choosing toothpaste, it really comes down to personal preference. Some people spend a little extra on whitening toothpaste, and others need toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth. While most toothpaste brands and types will clean your teeth well, try to be cautious around trendy ingredients. Additions like charcoal and aloe vera have very little evidence to support their effectiveness and have been shown to damage enamel and cause wear over the long term. Sometimes, the most basic toothpaste is the most effective!
When brushing, angle the bristles toward your gum line and make short strokes on just 1-2 teeth at a time, making sure that heavy plaque is removed from the contours where teeth meet and the gum margins. Brush your teeth for at least two minutes twice a day and rinse with mouthwash. After brushing, you can move on to flossing.
Flossing
It’s so important to get into the habit of regular flossing. Ideally, you should be flossing every single day, but at the very least, try to make it a habit you keep up every couple of days. Flossing removes soft plaque biofilm from the surfaces brushing doesn’t reach. Without regular flossing, you’re far more likely to develop cavities and gum disease.
Start by wrapping the floss in a taut ‘C’ shape around your tooth, sliding it up and down just under the gums and between your teeth several times. Raise the floss over the pointed gum tissue and move onto the next tooth. Repeat the process on every tooth, including the ones in the back, until you’ve flossed each one. If you find flossing difficult because of dexterity or hard-to-reach areas, consider trading in your stand floss for a water flosser that will help you access areas deep under the gums, bridges, and between your teeth.
When you don’t floss often, it’s likely your gums will bleed. The symptoms of gingivitis often include bleeding or sensitive gums, but after two weeks of proper brushing and flossing, these symptoms typically go away. However, if the bleeding persists, you’ll need to organise a periodontal exam to check for gum disease.
