Good dental hygiene is your best way of fighting oral disease. If you’d like to improve your dental hygiene regime, here are 5 good habits to pick up:
- Brush twice a day: when you brush your teeth, you remove bacteria and food debris from your mouth, and this helps to prevent the formation of plaque. Plaque is the most significant cause of decay ad gum disease. For the best results, you should brush twice a day, every day.
- Set a timer: you may think that you’re doing a good job when it comes to brushing, but have you ever stopped to check that you’re brushing for long enough? Setting a timer is a great way of making sure that you brush for the recommended 2-minute period every time.
- Floss: flossing is really important because it cleans the parts of your mouth that you can’t reach with a brush. When you floss, you can dislodge debris and bacteria from the tiny cracks between your teeth, reducing the risk of plaque formation.
- Use fluoride toothpaste: fluoride is a mineral, which has benefits for your oral health because it helps to protect your enamel.
- Swap your toothbrush: if you’ve been using the same toothbrush for as long as you can remember, it’s time to invest in a new brush or brush head if you have an electric toothbrush. Ideally, you should swap your brush every 3-4 months.
If you’re keen to brush up on dental hygiene, we’re here to help, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need advice or brushing or flossing tips.
In the ongoing rush to keep our teeth clean in central Leeds, it should always be remembered that it all starts with a good toothbrush and choosing the right type that suits you can be a bit of a minefield. There are so many shapes and sizes, hard bristles, soft bristles, angled brushes- and then you can move into the world of electric brushes and as fantastic as they are in their cleaning actions, some may be very abrasive and completely unsuitable for your mouth. It can be a matter of trial and error until you get this right, as all our mouths tend to be different, with different agendas and requirements; it’s not a good idea, for example to continue brushing with the same brush if it is making your gums bleed. The best person to ask advice on this subject is your dentist. They have seen more of the inside of your mouth than you; they know how delicate your gums are and how your teeth are angled and can point you in the right direction. One thing is for sure, you should change your brush regularly- they wear down and then work inefficiently, and they are a great home for bacteria. If you persevere with your search for the right brush and keep a few rules in mind, you should have no problems with cleaning your teeth.
There is no feeling quite as clean as that of just having had your teeth cleaned by a dentist or dental hygienist. No mater how thoroughly you brush and floss at home you can never get that ‘straight from the dentist’ clean feeling. Dentists and hygienists use techniques known as scaling and polishing to clean teeth as thoroughly as possible, which while sometimes a little unpleasant, are very necessary to keep teeth healthy.
