The Best Technique For Brushing Your Teeth

Brushing your teeth several times a day is essential to take care of oral health. In addition, it is important to complement it with the use of dental floss and not forget areas such as the tongue and cheeks.

Proper tooth brushing is an essential part of oral hygiene. Yellow teeth, bad breath or cavities can appear as a result of not doing it correctly. This, in the long term, could represent more serious health problems.

People, for the most part, know the repercussions of not brushing their teeth. However, not everyone knows the best technique to do this, and when they go to the dentist it may be too late. In this article we give you some tips for effective oral hygiene.

Tips for brushing your teeth well

Sometimes television commercials show one technique, the dentist offers another, and our parents have taught us differently. But who is right?

Before moving on to the brushing technique, we would like to share some general recommendations. These can be useful for a cleaner, healthier and fresher mouth.

1. Brush your teeth at least twice a day

According to a National Health Service publication , brushing your teeth twice a day is enough; once in the evening, before bed, and at some other time every day. Although the dentist could give you different recommendations depending on your case.

On the other hand, it is important to brush before going to bed, since this way the food residues accumulated during the day are eliminated. This routine can help  prevent infections, cavities, and other oral problems.

2. Use a soft brush

Today there is a wide variety of brushes with different types of bristles. In most cases, there are three options: coarse, medium, and fine. The ideal is to opt for the latter, especially if the gums bleed or if the teeth have marks or scratches.

Also, it is good to get a brush with a small head that can reach all areas of the mouth. Do not forget to change it every 4 months maximum.

3. Don’t forget your tongue and cheeks

The mouth is a whole! For this reason, when brushing you do not have to focus only on the teeth. It is important to note that the tongue and cheeks must also be cleaned.

In this way, the accumulation of bacterial plaque and, consequently, bad breath is reduced. For this purpose, some brushes include, on the other side of the bristles, a kind of rubber pattern that is used for these two areas.

4. Use dental floss

Regarding dental floss, dentists say that it should be used at least once a day to remove food debris that gets trapped between the teeth.

According to a publication by the American Dental Association , flossing is essential for complete oral hygiene, since it allows you to reach different places that the brush cannot reach, and removes the plaque that forms between the teeth.

To do it correctly, a piece of about 30 cm long is cut and the ends are rolled on the index fingers of the hands. Then, it is passed through each of the spaces between the teeth. Care must be taken not to injure the gums.

So what is the best technique for brushing your teeth?

Proper brushing should include short, gentle strokes. You should also take good care of your gums, which is the least attended area and where a lot of problems occur. According to another American Dental Association publication , the steps to get a proper cleaning are:

• Brush the outer surfaces of the teeth (both lower and upper) in circular motions. The brush must be at 45 ° in relation to the edge of the gum. The pressure should be very light.

• Pass the brush along the edges of each tooth. Especially focusing on the grinding wheels that have more space to store food. Rub in a circular motion to loosen debris and bacteria.
• Rinse with a good amount of lukewarm water, making swish that allow the whole mouth to be washed.
• Use dental floss in all spaces, both upper and lower. Smoothness is very important to avoid damaging the gums.
• Pass the brush over the tongue and cheeks to eliminate the microbes that settle in these places.
• Make a new rinse with warm water.

Some recommendations for proper brushing

Finally, it must be taken into account that many people mishandle the toothbrush because they follow the practices of advertising. If it is taken with the fist it can generate abrasion and dental sensitivity.

Therefore, the ideal is to do it like taking a pen. In this way, we avoid excessive pressure on tooth surfaces and its consequences. It is important to visit the dentist periodically in case of any discomfort due to lack of oral hygiene.