Many of us learned basic oral hygiene habits as children. Now that we are all grown up, it’s a good idea to review our techniques and make sure we are keeping our smiles healthy! Let’s review some at-home dental care basics.

Brush: Brush your teeth for two minutes, twice per day. Many people choose to brush when they wake up and just before bedtime. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to protect your enamel and gum tissues from damage, and don’t brush too hard. Think more “massage” than “scrub.” Brushing with a stiff brush or harsh pressure can do significant damage to your enamel and gum tissues.

Floss: Floss your teeth for two to three minutes every day. Floss (or other interdental cleaners) clean the places that your toothbrush cannot reach–in between teeth and behind back molars, for example. Interdental cleaning can come before or after brushing, as long as you do both consistently.

Mouthwash: Some people choose to include mouthwash (also referred to as mouthrinse) in their daily hygiene routine. If you choose to do this, use a therapeutic mouthwash–that is, mouthwash that is designed to kill bacteria, rather than simply masking halitosis.

For more information, call [practice_name] in [city], [state], at [phone]. Dr. [doctor_name] and our team are happy to help you!

A healthier smile is as close as your dental floss dispenser! The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends brushing at least twice each day and flossing at least once a day for a healthy smile.

While toothbrushes effectively remove plaque and food debris from the tops and sides of teeth, dental floss reaches those tight crevices between teeth and the teeth and gum line. It doesn’t matter whether you floss before or after brushing or when you go to bed or when you wake up–the key is to be thorough when flossing. This means you will need to set enough time aside to do the job right.

Time to Floss:

First, choose a floss that works for you, whether it is a single filament (monofilament) floss or nylon multifilament floss, both work well.

— To begin flossing, pull about 18 inches of floss from your floss dispenser.

— Carefully wrap the amount of floss you have around each of your middle fingers, with about an inch or so stretched in between to clean.

— Keeping the string taut between your thumbs and your index fingers, work it carefully and gently between your teeth and up-and-down.

— Slide gently in a C-curved shape around the base of each tooth, including below the gum line.

— Then, rub back and forth and up and down against the sides of each tooth, using clean sections of floss every time you move to a new tooth.

— Once you have cleaned each tooth, rinse with water or mouthwash to remove any loosened debris.

And there you have it. To improve your smile, take the extra time to floss your pearly whites thoroughly every single day. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the team at [practice_name] at [phone] today!

Have you ever had a canker sore? If you have, you know how annoying they can be. Typically—despite canker sores being fairly small—they can be quite painful. Unlike cold sores, canker sores always appear inside of the mouth, either on your lips, your tongue, or the side of your mouth and are not contagious.

Sadly, no one knows exactly what causes these annoying sore and there is no way to treat them. Fortunately, they should heal on their own after a few days, but wouldn’t it be better if you could avoid the experience entirely? Luckily, even though we may not know the cause of canker sores, we do know a few ways you can avoid them.

For example, some fruits and vegetables can irritate your mouth and leave you with a painful sore. This is particularly true of citrus fruits. Similarly, you could develop a canker sore if you bite your gums or tongue.

Similarly, to protect your smile from these annoying sores, we recommend maintaining sound oral health. Another thing you can do is avoid brushing with the wrong type of toothbrush. We recommend using a soft-bristled brush. This type of toothbrush will remove plaque and tartar efficiently without aggravating your gums.

If you have any other questions about what you can do to protect your smile from canker sores, please feel free to contact us soon. We’re excited to hear from you.

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At-Home Dental Hygiene Basics