dental bulletin  #1

How to Brush Your Teeth

Now that we've all had some time to eat Halloween candy, we thought it was appropriate to devote this month's newsletter to brushing our teeth.  Everyone brushes their teeth (we hope!) but do they brush them correctly? When Healthy Kids & Seniors Dental provides care to children at our school-based clinics, we educate each of our patients on how to care for their teeth in addition to providing them with a free toothbrush, toothpaste and floss.  Unfortunately, we have found that the vast majority of children do not understand how to properly care for their teeth.  This brief e-mail is intended to provide you with some of the basic techniques to insure that when you brush you are brushing correctly. Please feel free to pass this information along to the children at your schools as well and remember to check out our website for more great resources.  We can all use a refresher course! 

Proper brushing takes at least two minutes. Most people do not come close to brushing that long. To properly brush your teeth, use short, gentle strokes, paying extra attention to the gum line, hard-to-reach back teeth, and areas around fillings, crowns or other restorations.

Here are a other general pointers about brushing:

1.      Begin by placing the head of the brush beside your teeth, with the bristles at a 45 degree angle against the gum line (where the teeth and gums meet ). Think of the brush as both a toothbrush and a gum brush. With the bristles contacting both tooth and gum, move the brush back and forth several times across each tooth individually.

2.      Use a short stroke and a gentle scrubbing motion, as if the goal were to massage the gum. Don't try to force the bristles under the gum line; that will happen naturally, especially with a brush that has soft, flexible bristles.

3.      Brush the outer surfaces of the upper and lower teeth. Then use the same short back-and-forth strokes on the inside surfaces. Try to concentrate harder on the inside surfaces; studies show they're more often neglected. For the upper and lower front teeth, brush the inside surfaces by using the brush vertically and making several gentle up--and-down strokes over the teeth and gums.

4.      Finish up by lightly scrubbing the chewing surfaces of the upper and lower teeth.

5.      You should also brush your tongue for fresher breath.