What’s The Best Way To Clean My Teeth?

The Best Way To Clean Teeth

I have lost track of how many times I get asked what’s the best way to clean my teeth, what’s the best type of toothbrush or floss, do I need to floss, how do I floss, what’s the best toothpaste etc. So in this and the upcoming blog posts, I will be answering these questions and more.

The Best Teeth Cleaning Techniques

Brushing and flossing are crucial if you want to maintain healthy gums. After all, what’s the point of having perfect straight white teeth if your gum health is so bad that eventually you will end up losing your teeth so that the only pearly whites you will have will be the sort you take out at night or will be held in on dental implants.

Prevention is much better than cure or management of a condition and when it comes to prevention focusing on oral hygiene is a must.

Brushing

When it comes to brushing there are some basic rules or guidelines that you should follow like:

1. brush for 2 minutes
2. brush twice a day
3. use a good toothpaste
4. clean all your teeth – don’t forget the back ones
5. brush your gums as well as your teeth
6. brush after breakfast and before bed
7. don’t brush too hard
8. change your toothbrush regularly every 3 months.

Yet the statistics show that most people only brush once a day and when they do, they brush too hard and not for long enough. The average time spent moving the toothbrush over the teeth is approximately 20 seconds. 20 seconds of brushing is not enough time to remove plaque from your teeth.

Brush The Plaque Away

Plaque is a sticky substance made up of bacteria and food particles that need to be brushed over several times before it detaches from the tooth surface. Any plaque that you don’t remove effectively will start to solidify from the minerals in your saliva creating a hard layer that is firmly adhered to your teeth called tartar or calculus. This is the stuff that your dentist or hygienist need to remove for you when they perform a professional dental clean or scaling.

Plaque and tartar are implicated in both tooth decay and gum disease.

Flossing

Love it or hate it flossing is an important part of good oral hygiene. Your toothbrush cannot reach in between the teeth where lots of food debris and plaque build-up accumulates. Brushing your teeth and not flossing is like taking a shower and not washing your armpits. Ugh.

Flossing when combined with good brushing helps you clean every surface of your teeth. Something like 40% of your tooth surfaces is inaccessible to your toothbrush.

My advice is to floss once a day every day, preferably after your last meal of the day or just before bed so that when you sleep there aren’t deposits of food and plaque sitting between your teeth.

As long as you use the correct technique it doesn’t really matter what type of floss you choose. The best floss is one that you will use.

The Benefits of Flossing

Flossing provides a number of benefits – from simply having cleaner teeth to preventing cavities and even avoiding tooth loss. Flossing reaches the places a toothbrush can’t and helps to prevent:

• bad breath
• cavities
• tartar build up
• gum disease
• diseases linked to poor oral health – like heart disease, diabetes, stroke and even cancers.

To keep your mouth healthy (and your body) is important to spend a few minutes twice a day caring for your teeth and gums as good oral health supports you to live a longer healthier life.

Kenmore Dentist For All Your Teeth Cleaning and Dental Needs

Dr Rachel Hall has over years as a qualified dentist including 15 years specialising in Holistic Dentistry. She is a passionate industry leader who is a respected writer and speaker on the subjects of holistic dentistry and natural health.

Call us to find out how we can help you have the smile of your dreams