Brushing your teeth.
Sounds simple right? In reality, effective toothbrushing is a skill many adults struggle with. In fact, 1 in 5 adult Australian’s do not routinely brush twice a day. As dental professionals, we see patients having difficulty with their brushing on a daily basis. Toothbrushing is a fundamental skill that requires ongoing effort and adjustment to remain effective throughout the different stages of our life.
At each visit, your Medland Dentist and Hygienist can help you to identify areas where you may need to focus your brushing technique. There is an abundance of information, products and techniques available to support you in achieving the best possible results each time you brush. For Dental Health Week 2021, we’ve collected our top 5 toothbrushing tips, along with some brushing basics, to help you ‘Keep your smile for life!”
- Consider an electric toothbrush. An electric toothbrush is a like a magic wand! Want that dentist clean feeling every time you brush? An oscillating/pulsating electric toothbrush like those available from Oral B, can help you to do a better job with your brushing. Focus on a single tooth, holding the brush for a few seconds on each surface. Make sure you brush the outer, inner and top surface of each tooth.
- Each day, we see patients struggling with their brushing in the same areas. We recommend brushing in a pattern. Brushing in the same order will ensure you never forget where you’re up to or miss a spot! Always ‘overlap’ a little onto the other side when brushing around your front teeth. The corners of your smile can often be missed when we change the position of our brush. Got a spot you have been asked to focus on when you brush? Brush it first or last to help devote your full focus to cleaning the area.
- Do you like to put away the laundry or wander around the house whilst you brush? Well stop! Brushing in front of the mirror helps you to focus on your brushing technique. Watch your toothbrush clean a single tooth at a time. Most adults struggle to brush the tooth surfaces next to their tongue. Looking in the mirror can help to make sure your tongue stays out of the way and your toothbrush touches along the gumline right to the very back of your mouth.
- Want to improve your brushing? Brush for a full 2 minutes! Sometimes, this can feel like a really long time. Most of us simply don’t brush for long enough.
- Each time you brush, check your work! When you finish brushing, run your tongue around your teeth. Find any furry feeling areas? Go back and brush those areas again until they feel completely smooth. Finish up by spitting out your toothpaste, but DON’T rinse. This leaves a little extra fluoride from your toothpaste in your mouth to help protect your teeth from developing decay.
Brushing basics:
- Brush your teeth at least twice daily – morning and night (and after meals?if time permits)
- Brush for at least 2 minutes
- Make sure to clean all areas of your mouth – including; along the gumline, outer,?inner?and biting/chewing surfaces of your teeth and your tongue
- Always using a SOFT manual toothbrush with a small or child size head or an electric toothbrush?
- Use a fluoride toothpaste to reduce your risk of dental?decay?
- Avoiding excessive pressure, backwards-forwards scrubbing and hard toothbrushes which can damage gums and contribute to gum?recession?
- Children’s teeth should be brushed by an adult at least once daily until 6 years of age
- Children’s brushing should continue to be supervised until at least 10 years of age.
