Antioch CA Dentist on Righting Your Regimen
In order to both prevent the teeth from dental detriment, and to maintain their amazing status, your Antioch CA dentist recommends that all of our patients stick to a regular at-home oral health regimen. Ideally this will include twice daily brushing and once daily flossing, but these oftentimes can be overlooked. Even if participating in these “proper” methods, sometimes mistakes can be made brushing that are more harmful than not brushing at all.
Before even getting to the brushing, errors in choosing a brush are possible. Always make sure to choose a soft bristle brush with a head that is proportional to the size of your mouth. If you choose one that is hard bristle or too large, you could be straining or damaging the teeth or gums while attempting a cleaning. And while considering electric or manual, which is a topic we will cover another day, both varieties are as helpful as long as they are being used properly.
Technique and timing are the second consideration to make while brushing your teeth. While more in-depth details of the proper technique can be found in our FAQ page, we will go over a few pointers here. As previously mentioned, twice daily brushing should be your goal. Each of these sessions should last for at least two minutes in which all surfaces of the teeth, gum line, and tongue should be scrubbed. If the two minutes seems like forever, consider trying an electric toothbrush with a built-in timer. It can buzz or play a tune when you are finished or to move on to another portion of the mouth. Breaking up the mouth into 4 quadrants which you can brush for 30 seconds at a time also seems to be a good way to break up both the monotony of brushing and bacteria from settling in.
The last mistake we will discuss today is holding onto your brush for too long. Every 3-4 months you should be replacing your brush with a new one. By brushing daily for these few months, you are doing enough “damage” to the bristles that they begin to be less effective, and could even see bacteria starting to fester. It is ideal that you know when to say goodbye.
If you have questions concerning your at-home brushing routine, feel free to ask your Antioch CA dentist at your next appointment. You can request an appointment at our Antioch dental office by calling (925) 777-1719 today!
