Brushing & Flossing Techniques From Your Henrico Family Dentists
When you're looking for a Henrico family dentist, we at Short Pump Dental strive to go above and beyond in order to be your choice. Through our wide array of high-quality dental treatments, we're able to help give you a healthy smile that's sure to last a lifetime. However, the most important thing you can ever do for your smile is to consistently brush and floss your teeth. We'd like to take this time to give you some advice on how to brush and floss most efficiently.
Brushing
Brushing is the most vital part of oral hygiene; we recommend doing so four times a day. These occurrences should be:
- In the morning after breakfast
- After lunch or after school
- After eating dinner
- Before bedtime
This will help you avoid the accumulation of plaque and food particles on your teeth. For most efficient brushing, we suggest using a soft-bristled toothbrush and toothpaste that contains fluoride. You'll also want to follow these steps:
- First, you'll place a small strip of fluoridated toothpaste on your toothbrush.
- You'll want to hold your toothbrush at about a 45-degree angle, pointed at your gum line.
- Move your brush around in small circular motions so that you can reach any food particles that may be trapped underneath your gum line.
- Keep brushing slowly and carefully, making sure to get all the outsides of your teeth. You'll want to brush down on the upper teeth and brush up on the lower teeth.
- Follow this process for the inside parts of your teeth as well.
- Then, use a back-and-forth scrubbing motion to clean the chewing surfaces of your teeth.
- Finally, make sure to brush your tongue and the roof of your mouth before your rinse thoroughly with water.
You should always replace your toothbrush when its bristles begin to fray or wear down.
Flossing
Dental floss is useful in removing food particles and plaque from areas of the mouth that your toothbrush can't reach, including between the teeth and below the gum line. Proper flossing follows these steps:
- Pull a small length of floss from the dispenser and wrap the ends of it around your middle fingers.
- Guide the floss between two of your teeth and up to the gum line, removing any food particles or plaque.
- Unwrap some of the clean floss from around your fingers and move onto the next pair of teeth.
- Keep following this process until you've finished flossing between all of your teeth. Make sure to floss behind your back molars as well.
It's important to floss daily. When you first start flossing, your gums may start to bleed. This is completely normal though. However, if your gums keep bleeding after you've flossed several times, you should let your dentist know on your next visit.
Contact Your Henrico Family Dentist Today!
If you're interested in scheduling an appointment with us, we encourage you to fill out our online appointment request form or give us a call at (804) 747-0116. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We hope to hear from you soon and help you achieve a healthier smile!