Daily tooth brushing is essential for good oral health and disease prevention, but also for whiter teeth and to avoid bad breath.
Although we have been brushing our teeth daily since childhood, we still make simple mistakes that do not allow us to effectively eliminate bacterial plaque. Now with the arrival of the Christmas holidays, with their copious meals and binge eating of sweets, we must pay special attention to our daily dental hygiene in order to avoid the accumulation of plaque.
Why is good tooth brushing important?
Maintaining a good tooth brushing routine will effectively eliminate bacterial plaque, the great enemy of dental health. It is a layer formed by bacteria that adheres to the teeth and gums, causing caries, gingivitis and subsequent periodontitis. If left untreated, their development can lead to tooth loss.
Dental plaque is often associated with tartar, as tartar is effectively calcified dental plaque. The problem lies in the fact that by the time tartar is palpable or visible, the accumulation of bacterial plaque is already very advanced, and even when we do not detect tartar on our teeth we may have a bacterial plaque problem.
Proper daily hygiene combined with regular professional dental hygiene makes all the difference. Follow these tips in your daily tooth brushing and in a few days you will notice a noticeable improvement in your teeth and gums.
5 steps for proper tooth brushing
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Uses the necessary tools
There is a wide variety of toothbrushes, manual and electric, and it is important to be using the best one for your needs. We recommend the use of an electric toothbrush, since the large number of movements of its filaments allows it to remove plaque more effectively. However, there is a huge variety, for example, a special brush with soft bristles when there is a problem of gingivitis, etc. In our clinic, a specialist in dental prevention will advise you on the toothbrush that best suits your needs and we will even give you a discount voucher for when you buy it.
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Dental floss or interproximal brush, the unfinished business
Although most adults are aware of the need to brush their teeth, the use of dental floss or interproximal brushes is still a step that is not so well assimilated and is essential. Some of the bacterial plaque is trapped between the teeth, where the toothbrush cannot reach. This accumulation is what can generate caries in delicate areas. Also inflammation and bleeding of the gums, which can be symptoms of diseases such as gingivitis and subsequent periodontitis.
For this reason, our specialists in preventive dentistry recommend at least one interdental cleaning per day. In our dental clinic in Barcelona we will advise you on how to use dental floss and interproximal brushes, choosing the ones that best suit your spaces between teeth. Many patients notice a vast improvement in the color and appearance of their gums within a few days of practicing good interdental hygiene.
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Brushing your teeth as a habit after meals
Tooth brushing should be done three times a day, after each major meal. Sugars, acids and other food components stick to our teeth and create bacterial plaque. Efficient brushing for at least two minutes will remove these bacteria.
Situations such as dining out or eating at work often encourage us to forget to brush our teeth, but it is important to maintain the routine so that it becomes a habit.
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Mouthwash isn’t just for breath
It is a mistake to associate the use of mouthwash as a final step of brushing just to avoid bad breath or to get a fresh feeling in the mouth. The function of mouthwash is to attack plaque and weaken bacteria so that they are easier to remove by brushing. For this reason, our dental specialists recommend choosing a good mouthwash and even rinsing before brushing your teeth.
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Special attention to the gums
It should not be forgotten that oral hygiene should be applied to the whole mouth, beyond the teeth. Thus, it is recommended to spend a few seconds gently brushing the gums to remove the large amount of plaque that accumulates on the underside of the gums. Also, do not forget to brush the tongue and cheeks from back to front to remove bacteria from the entire oral cavity.
