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Dental Hygiene
Brushing your teeth too vigorously, or using a hard-bristled brush, can cause your gums to recede and expose the root surfaces of your teeth.
Gum recession is one of the main causes of tooth sensitivity so it's crucial that you know how to brush your teeth properly.
The following advice should be suitable for most patients, but always ask your dentist for advice on the best toothbrush and brushing technique for you.
How long should I spend brushing my teeth?
You should brush your teeth at least twice a day - preferably after meals - and it should take about 3 minutes to do it thoroughly and properly.
What's the best way to brush my teeth?
- Squeeze a small amount (about the size of pea) of fluoride toothpaste onto your brush
- To clean your back teeth, tilt the bristles at 45 degrees - so that the tips sit in the join between your teeth and gums - and gently brush back and forth on each surface of the tooth
- To clean your front teeth, hold the brush vertically and brush the front and back of each tooth in a gentle up and down motion
- Gently brush the surface of your tongue to help keep your breath fresh and reduce bacteria
- Rinse your mouth and clean your brush thoroughly
What type of brush should I use?
Soft bristled brushes are kinder to gums and can help prevent teeth becoming sensitive. Synthetic bristles harbour fewer bacteria so they are generally preferable to natural bristles. Never use a worn out brush - replace it every three months, or whenever the bristles begin to spread.
Flossing
As soon as your adult teeth have come through, you should start to floss your teeth as part of your regular dental hygiene routine. Children have normally developed most of their adult teeth by aged 12, but children with crowded teeth should start to floss earlier.
Why should I floss?
It can be hard to reach the areas between your teeth, or under your gum line, with a toothbrush and it is here that sticky layers of plaque can accumulate. If you don't remove this plaque by flossing, it can cause tooth decay and gum disease.
How often should I floss?
Flossing once a day, before you go to bed, is enough for most people but it's best to take advice from your dentist about how often you should floss and about which areas of your mouth need the most attention.
How do I floss?
Before you start, ask your dentist how to floss correctly - but as a general guide, follow these steps:
- Use a length of floss approximately 18 inches long
- Wrap the ends of the floss around the middle fingers of both hands, until you have a length of about 2-3 inches to floss with
- Hold the floss between your forefingers and thumbs and slide into the space between two teeth
- Try not to force the floss between your teeth - if the contact area is tight gently slide the floss forward and back until it eases through
- Curve the floss around your tooth keeping your fingers as close to the tooth as possible
- Move the floss up and down and gently stroke the plaque away
- Continue the process, unwinding fresh floss from your middle finger as you go, until you've flossed all your teeth
- Rinse your mouth
What type of floss should I use?
Use the floss that feels most comfortable and that you find easiest to use. If flossing is difficult your dentist or hygienist may suggest other options for cleaning between your teeth, such as special brushes, dental sticks or floss in a holding device.
Can flossing damage gums?
Flossing won't damage your gums if you do it properly, so if you find flossing painful or difficult, ask your dentist for advice. When you floss for the first time you may notice some bleeding but, as you continue to floss regularly, the health of your gums will improve and the bleeding should stop.
March 2008 saw 543 Dental Centre become only one of 6 surgeries across the UK to be able to provide Periowave.
This new technology is used for the treatment of gum disease, which is the number one cause of tooth loss!
Signs of gum disease are bad breath, red swollen gums, gum bleeding and gum sensitivity. Periowave is a quick and painless technology that works to kill the bacteria associated with periodontal diseases, without the promotion of antibiotic resistance. Periowave is painless, non-antibiotic, quick, effective and safe.
Ask your hygienist for Periowave today!
For more information, please visit periowave.com