From the time you are young, you are taught to brush and floss your teeth daily, but what does that entail? Today, our dental team talks about the importance of routine oral hygiene and how often you should be brushing and flossing your teeth to keep them healthy.
Along with routine professional dental exams and professional cleanings you will need to perform at-home oral hygiene. This includes brushing and flossing every single day.
During your professional dental visits, you can also ask any dental and oral hygiene-related questions as well as receive any recommendations or advice that your dentist may offer.
In this post, our dentists talk more about the benefits of routine oral hygiene and care.
How often should you brush and floss your teeth anyway?
Are you wondering how often you are actually supposed to be cleaning your teeth? How many times a day should you brush and floss? Read on to find out.
When you are brushing your teeth, our dentists recommend spending at least two minutes brushing thoroughly. A little longer is fine but do not brush for longer than 4 minutes total. Acidity can wear down the enamel of your teeth, so you should wait at least 30 minutes after you've finished eating to brush your teeth. At the very least, we recommend brushing twice per day and always before bedtime. You might want to try setting a timer to ensure your brushing routine is long enough. Be sure to also floss your teeth once a day. This can be done during your bedtime routine before you begin to brush.
While you are brushing your teeth you should be sure to cover the surface of each tooth, including the chewing surface, the cheek side, and the tongue side. Teeth brushing should always be done in a sweep motion at a 45-degree angle. On upper teeth, use a downward sweeping motion. When you get to your lower teeth, use an upward sweeping motion. The only place that you should be using the back-and-forth motion is on the chewing surface of your teeth.
Flossing is a step best done during your before-bed oral hygiene routine. When you floss, you'll dislodge buildup and debris from food between your teeth in places you are unable to reach with your toothbrush. Insert the string of floss between two teeth and run it up and down the side of each, pulling it into a "c" shape in both directions. Take your time while flossing and be sure to floss every crevice along your teeth.
What are the benefits of this routine oral hygiene routine?
You should have a professional dental cleaning and exam performed by our dentists in every 6 months to help protect your oral health.
While you are at your dental visit, your dentist will perform a complete evaluation of your teeth and discuss any concerns that they may have. They will also likely perform a dental cleaning to remove any plaque buildup that has occurred since your last visit. This is crucial to help prevent the buildup of cavity-causing bacteria.
By giving your dentist the opportunity to examine your teeth you allow for the early diagnosis and treatment of a variety of dental concerns.
It is crucial to visit the dentist for routine examinations. During these exams, your dentist will be able to spot potentially serious oral health concerns such as cavities, gum disease, cysts, and even tumours that are often not noticeable to the untrained eye in their early stages.