We all know the fact that we have to brush our teeth every day since we are children. But have you ever thought about the reason and how to brush exactly? If we don’t know, it’s likely that we are doing it wrong all the time.ย
1.Brush your teeth
A plaque disclosing tablet can also help you find areasย that you’re missing when you are brushing. It dies the areas of plaque in a certain color so you can brush them away to aid good brushing. Use a fluoride age-appropriate toothpaste. If you do brush your teeth, do it at least 30 minutes after eating or drinking.
2.Use a manual toothbrush
Itโs completely fine. You can use a bamboo brush as well rather than the plastic ones. Electric toothbrushes can be a bit more efficient. But with a manual toothbrush, you can reach really good oral hygiene as well. As long as you’re using the correct technique.
3.How to correctly use a manual toothbrush?
We recommend that you use the bristles of your toothbrushย at a 45-degree angleย to the actual gum margin andย then rotate the toothbrushย so that you can remove all the debris around the tooth.ย Each tooth should be usedย properly for about five rotations to make sure thatย you do have time to catchย all the debris.
First of all, we recommend that you do the outside surfaces of the teeth. Then go on to the bite surfaces and do the same thing in a rotational manner. Get the bristles of the toothbrush to go into all the nooks and crannies of all the teeth. And then the inside surfaces off the teeth.ย
We would recommend that youย spend 30 seconds per quadrant.ย A quadrant is all theย way from your front teethย to the back teeth on sayย the upper right-hand side. Then the upper left-hand side,ย lower left,ย and then the lower right.ย So 30 seconds per quadrantย would make it up toย two minutes all togetherย brushing your teeth.
4.Use an electric toothbrush
Electric toothbrushesย can be more efficientย because they have pressure sensors, timers and paces to help youย brush your teeth correctly.ย For example, you can breakย your mouth down into quadrantsย so that you can do each quadrant for 30 secondsย and build up to fourย quadrants for two minutes.
5.How to correctly use an electric toothbrush?
An electric toothbrushย has a small longer head. This means that most of theย movements you need to doย is actually within the toothbrush head.
When we come to brush the teeth,ย all we need to do is put theย bristles of the toothbrushย at a 45-degree angle to the teeth and you hold it next to the tooth.ย It will then do all theย work for you like this.
You keep the toothbrush head on and brush each tooth for about three seconds. Move forward and keep your toothbrush head at the same angle to the outside of the teeth. Remember that you don’t need to put it in a circular motion. The head will do it all for you on the outside teeth and then you do the bite surfaces of the teeth. And then you do the inside surfaces of teeth. Remember to make sure itโs still at a 45-degree angle. It goes into those gum margins. Each takes three seconds all the way to the front and that is one quadrant done. You need to do all four quadrants totaling up to two minutes.
6.Replace a toothbrush or brush head
We recommend replacingย your toothbrush headsย or your manual toothbrushesย every three monthsย or sooner depending on the signs of wearย on the toothbrush head.ย If you look at theย bristles of your toothbrushย and they are splayed out, worn outย or disfigured, we recommend discarding thatย toothbrush head and having a new one.
Carrying on using your worn-out old toothbrush head can be dangerous for your teeth because it won’t give you the optimum clean and it can be really abrasive for your teeth as well. Be sure to replace your toothbrush head in a timely manner.
One way of reminding yourself could be to mark it on your calendar. So mark every three months on your calendar when to change your toothbrush head. Or you can get apps and reminders on your phone as well, which can tell you when to change them. Some toothbrush heads actually have a fading reminder bristle within the toothbrush head. Some actual toothbrush handles can track your brushing and tell you when it’s the right time to start changing your toothbrush head. Just be mindful of the environment when you’re getting rid of your toothbrush heads about plastics.
So it’s good for you toย be vigilant to monitorย and have a good look at yourย toothbrush head yourself.ย See if it’s fading,ย if the bristles are wearingย and replace it at anย appropriate time for you.
7.What happens if you don't brush your teeth?
Skipping one brushing session is not a major problem as long as you resume your normal brushing on the following days. 30% of Americans don’t brush their teeth two times a day. And 2% don’t even brush their teeth at all. If you continue not brushing your teeth, you’ll have a buildup of plaque, debris, food debris, calculus around your teeth, which will then lead to bleeding gums, tooth decay, bad breath and several other problems.
For the patientsย who haven’tย been brushing their teethย for a few years, essentially in the end, they may end up losing their teeth.ย And they may have to go for denturesย or implants.
8.Why is fluoride toothpaste good for the teeth?
Fluoride is a chemical that helps you strengthen your teeth. It’s got lots of benefits for helping you prevent tooth decay and help your teeth fight acid attacks and sugar attacks. You might see it in your toothpaste named Sodium Monofluorophosphate, Sodium Fluoride, or Stannous Fluoride. It’s in toothpaste because it can help to strengthen your teeth. Essentially fluoride is a chemical that integrates into the enamel structure of your teeth and helps you actually enamel become stronger.
Some people like to avoid fluoride because there are issues about health around it. But itโs still recommended by dentists that it is good for your teeth. There are different levels of fluoride recommended for adults and for children. Generally speaking, a pea-sized amount of adult toothpaste is fine for adults. There is dedicated toothpaste for children to use. But you can use an adult toothpaste with a tiny smear on the toothbrushes. You can go for any toothpaste you want to whether it’s expensive or cheap as long as it’s got fluoride in there.
It can be confusing. There are lots of different toothpaste on the market. There is a more environmentally friendly option to using your normal toothpaste – toothpaste tablets. You bite down on them, crush them between your teeth. The tablets mix with your saliva forming a paste and then you can brush your teeth with them as you would do normally.
