At James A. Penney, III, DDS, PA. Endodontics, we offer comprehensive endodontics. We’ve seen it all. The consequences of not practicing proper dental hygiene are painful and expensive.
Your first line of defense against decay is your dental hygiene routine. Here are a few tips from our team to help you get the most out of your dental hygiene routine.
1. Take the absent-mindedness out of brushing.
Brushing. It is such a common thing to do we often don’t think too much about it. You should be brushing your teeth for two minutes, holding the brush at a 45-degree angle, using the brush to gently massage every surface of your teeth.
Check out this blog: 6 Songs Perfect for Brushing Your Teeth To. We even took the time to break each song up into four segments. Because you should be brushing all four areas of your teeth, top left, top right, bottom right, bottom left, for equal amounts of time.
2. Make flossing easier for yourself.
Flossing is just as important as brushing. A toothbrush can not get the plaque that builds up in between your teeth. Regular dental floss might work well for some, but flossers are a true miracle for those who are less talented at navigating dental floss around each tooth.
Dental flossers might be more expensive than regular dental floss. The money you save by not having a cavity between your teeth will be worth it.
3. Use mouthwash.
Not everyone is sure what to do about mouthwash. It is a great way to make sure you have cleaned every part of your mouth. It kills bacteria. If you want whiter teeth, or have sensitive teeth, you can choose special mouthwash to help.
Ask your dentist what you should be looking for when choosing a mouthwash.
4. Don’t forget your tongue.
For the sake of those close to you, remember to brush the plaque off your tongue — yes, plaque builds up on your tongue. The bacteria that gets trapped on your tongue is responsible for bad breath.
You can clean your tongue with a handy tongue scraper. You can use dental floss to scrape off the plaque from your tongue as well. Or, for convenience, you can use your brush to clean your tongue by massaging your tongue in circular motions between brushing quadrants of your teeth.
Dental hygiene is so important to us, we’ve written a blog about it before. Check out Make The Most Of Your Dental Hygiene Routine for more tips.
