How to brush your teeth
It’s one of those strange facts. We’ll spend hours washing and brushing our hair and we’ll smile at our reflection afterwards in satisfaction. Yet chances are we won’t have paid nearly as much attention to the teeth that make that appreciative smile really sparkle. That’s why your experienced Surrey dentist presents you How to Brush Your Teeth tutorial!
Brushing our teeth often becomes one of those things we do subconsciously. The same restful and relaxed ritual involved in hair brushing simply doesn’t apply to teeth. It’s almost as if we are on autopilot when we squeeze some paste on the brush – and that autopilot is set on high speed.
Teeth and tongue deserve every bit as much ritual and care as hair. In fact, they deserve more considering their vital role in our general health. Research has shown the important role teeth play in our well-being, starting with the effectiveness of our digestive system, and including many other aspects of our general health.
Maybe it’s time to slow down, to relax, and to pay more attention to brushing our teeth correctly, than to getting the job done as quickly as possible. Who knows? We might even find we end up enjoying it after a while, when we realize that brushing our teeth can be a time-out period from everything around us.
How many times a day should we brush our teeth?
The usual recommendation is twice a day, although some dentists recommend a third brushing as well. Each brushing session should last for two minutes in total. This time can be divided up to make sure every part of the upper and lower sets of teeth gets equal attention during each session.
Be kind to your teeth
Use a soft brush and avoid brushing too hard. If you scour your teeth like you do a dirty pan with burnt residue on the bottom, you may end up with the same results – a scratched surface that’s not much good to anyone.
Using a hard brush, or putting too much pressure into your brushing action can end up damaging the tooth enamel and possibly hurt your gums.
The brushing action
It’s tempting to brush from side to side because it feels comfortable to do so. By far the better method is to hold your toothbrush at an angle of about 45 degrees to your gums and then brush up and down. That way the bristles get a better chance to reach round the sides of the teeth and get at any food debris caught between them, while you are brushing away the plaque that collects on your teeth.
Don’t miss anything
Clean the outer surfaces of your teeth first and then the inner, finishing with the chewing surface. Be careful not to miss out on the molars at the back of your mouth. Pay special (and gentle) attention to the gum line, as well as areas around fillings, crowns or implants.
Finishing up
- Once a day, make sure those hiding places between your teeth are thoroughly cleared out by cleaning between them with dental floss or a small interdental brush.
- Brushing your tongue once a day will give you fresher breath and your whole mouth will feel nice and clean.
