Are you cleaning your teeth thoroughly? Do you think so? Are you sure? Yes? Ok then – let’s take a look and see, because the health of your gums and teeth will tell our dentist in Ipswich all they need to know. We at Quest Dental Care see hundreds of patients who are showing signs of poor oral hygiene. Now, gum disease and decay have long been the two leading dental dramas for us dentists so this is nothing new, but we’re on a mission to get all our patients cleaning correctly in order to lower the numbers surrounding these two perfectly preventable issues.
Not only will this be helping patients to keep their natural teeth for longer, but it will also keep unwanted dental spends from leaving their bank account during this trying economic time.
What’s the best way to brush?
Brushing technique isn’t something that we really ever talk about or acknowledge as being a really important part of our overall oral health. Brushing is just something that we do, we learnt how to do it as a child and probably, unless prompted by a dentist in Ipswich, wouldn’t think about it in too much depth. We at Quest Dental believe this is part of the problem and with that here’s our guide on toothbrush technique from our dentist in Ipswich.
Brushing at its best
Firstly you should start out by looking at how you brush now, are you just aimlessly pushing the brush around your mouth without much consideration for the act itself? Are you focusing on trying to remove bacteria and germs from the gum line and tooth surface or are you just brushing back and forth? For most patients it’s going to be the latter and that’s absolutely fine – we’re all learning here.
Now you have a better understanding of where you’re at, you’ll be able to move forward to developing a better clean with these simple steps.
Motion
If you aren’t moving the brush in a circular motion then now’s the time to start – back and forth just won’t cut the mustard. You need to be using little circles to help dislodge food debris and plaque in front of the gum line.
Specific
Often, an issue we find is that patients just clean the areas of the teeth that are visible and don’t get specific about where exactly they need to brush. Check the back of your bottom teeth, this is a really common area of plaque and bacteria build-up. When brushing, be specific about where you are brushing and move across every tooth making sure to cover the full surface of the tooth – front, back and top.
Time
How long are you brushing for? Be honest… it’s probably not enough. We live fast-paced lives and because of this sometimes our sense of time can become a little out of sync from reality. Always wanting to jump to the next thing means we don’t take time for the present and it’s easy to see teeth brushing as an easy job to be done quickly, when really it’s an important daily task that benefits your health and is worth your time. Start setting two minute alarms when brushing to ensure your smile gets the time it deserves.
