How to Clean Teeth Like a Dentist

Oral hygiene is the foundation of good dental health. Brushing and flossing regularly is the best way to keep your Las Vegas smile healthy and clean. Consider this your personal tutorial on the art of dental hygiene, instructed by Drs. Wagner, Cannon, Lawler, & Nelson, along with the expert hygienists at Wagner Dental.

Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Floss & Mouthwash

Before we talk technique, we need to make sure you have the right tools for the job. You’re going to need a toothbrush, fluoride toothpaste, and floss. Pick whatever floss is most comfortable for you and any toothpaste that you like, provided it has fluoride. Mouthwash is not required, but some Las Vegas residents really like the extra health boost you get from a good swish and gargle.

How do you pick a good toothbrush?

  • Always go with soft bristles. Medium or hard bristles can damage enamel.
  • Choose a brush that fits your mouth. The head of the brush should be small enough to reach all the way behind your back teeth and fit comfortably in your mouth and hand.
  • Electric toothbrushes are fine, but you can achieve the same results with a regular toothbrush if you know how to brush like a pro.
  • Remember to replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months, every time you get over a cold, or whenever the bristles start to look mangled.

Floss Like a Boss

Drs. Wagner, Cannon, Lawler, & Nelson remind us to floss before brushing. That way you can ensure that the particles and bacteria unearthed during flossing will be removed during the expert brushing session that follows. Make sure to floss at least once a day.

  1. Wrap about 18 inches of floss around your two index fingers, with most of it on one finger.
  2. Work the floss in between two teeth, wrap it around the back tooth and work it up and down several times. Then, repeat with the front tooth.
  3. Make sure you don’t “snap” the floss because this can injure your gums.
  4. As you get to each tooth, let out a little more floss and wrap it around the finger, tightening the slack. This will avoid putting the nasty stuff from one tooth back between two other teeth.

Expert Brushing Techniques

We’ve talked toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste, so now it’s time to teach the fine folks of Las Vegas how to brush like a dentist. Here we go!

  1. Brush at least twice a day. The best times are before breakfast and right before bed.
  2. Don’t overdo it on the toothpaste. You only need a pea-sized dollop. Any more than that will make your mouth unpleasantly foamy and increase your chances of swallowing fluoride, which is not good for your health.
  3. Brush for at least two minutes. The most common mistake is not brushing long enough. Using a stopwatch, hourglass, or just humming a song can help you stay on track. There are even smartphone apps available to keep you on track!
  4. Start with your brush on your gum line at a 45-degree angle.
  5. Brush up and down and/or in a circular motion, but NOT across.
  6. Don’t brush too hard! Brushing harder doesn’t make up for not brushing long enough. In fact, brushing too hard can damage enamel and even injure gums enough to cause painful gum recession and exposure of tooth roots.
  7. Make sure to brush all surfaces of your teeth – that means front, back, sides, corners, and chewing surfaces. If you divide your brushing time into 30 seconds for each side of the upper and lower teeth, you stand a much better chance of covering all of your bases.
  8. Brush your tongue. The worst of bad breath-causing bacteria live on your tongue.
  9. Rinse out your mouth, rinse off your brush, use a little mouthwash if you like, and pack it in.
  10. Pat yourself on the back for brushing the right way and giving yourself the excellent oral care you deserve!

If you have any questions or would like to come in for a professional cleaning, contact us at Wagner Dental today!

Sources

http://www.adha.org/ndhm/index.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Brush-Your-Teeth



from Wagner Dental http://wagnerdentist.com/clean-teeth-like-dentist/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of
Read more

Lemon Juice – The Good, the Bad, & the Sour

Image
In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health . What is pH and why does it matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), and above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline with a pH
Read more