How to Brush your Teeth

The First Step to Good Oral Health...

Knowing the proper way of brushing your teeth is the first step in good oral hygiene. Your oral health, the health of your teeth, mouth, and gums, depends on how often and how well you brush your teeth. Brushing your teeth correctly removes bacteria that promote tooth decay and gum disease. Brushing your teeth often and brushing your teeth thoroughly are two important means of preventing tooth decay and gum disease such as gingivitis.

Bacteria and Plaque

How Bacteria Attaches itself to the Tooth and Forms Plaque...

When discussing the importance of brushing your teeth, it’s essential to understand that bacteria attaches to the tooth enamel using the outside membrane of the bacteria cell. If you’re not brushing your teeth thoroughly or often enough, you end up with a large number of bacteria attached to your teeth. When you get a large number of attached bacteria concentrated in an area of a tooth, you have bacteria plague forming.

Bacteria plague is a population of bacteria cells feeding on leftover food debris. These leftovers are decomposed (catabolized) by the bacteria cells to provide themselves with carbon. During this catabolization process, the bacteria produce acid wastes which are harmful to the life of the bacteria cells. The bacteria cells therefore secrete these acid wastes to the tooth enamel thus beginning the process of tooth decay.

This is why proper brushing of your teeth is so important. Correct tooth brushing removes bacteria and plaque from your teeth. Brushing your teeth correctly also minimizes the attachment of bacteria thus preventing the formation of additional bacterial plague.

As you can see, brushing your teeth correctly is important, so the question remains… just how do we brush teeth correctly and maintain good oral health.

Brushing teeth is not rocket science, however it is important to brush teeth in a way as to remove bacteria and bacteria plague, and thus preventing tooth decay. Brushing teeth, although not complicated, is something most of us simply do not know how to do properly so we improvise.

Tooth Brushing Tips

· Brush your teeth after every meal when ever possible. Bacterial begins attacking your teeth minutes after eating a meal. By brushing your   teeth after every meal you minimize the bacteria’s chances of getting a foot hold on your teeth.

· If you can’t brush your teeth after a meal, at the very least, brush your teeth in the morning and again in the evening before bed (while you   sleep, your saliva production is lessened and bacteria act more readily).

· Brush at a 45 degree angle to your teeth. When brushing your teeth, always direct the bristles of your toothbrush between the neck of the   tooth and the gum. Use a gentle, circular motion up and down, trying to massage your gum at the same time.

· Do not scrub your tooth enamel. Brushing your teeth too hard can cause gums to recede visibly. Brushing your teeth hard does not equal a   thorough cleaning.

· Clean every surface of the tooth. It’s important, when brushing your teeth, to thoroughly brush the chewing surface, the cheek side and the   tongue side of every tooth.

· Take your time when brushing your teeth. When you brush your teeth, always take the time required to do it correctly. Brushing teeth is not a   race. Thorough cleaning of teeth takes at least 2 minutes, so relax while you brush and enjoy it…

· Change your tooth brushing pattern from time to time since if the way you are brushing leaves a certain spot of one tooth not brushed, then   repeating the same pattern will always leave that spot unbrushed. By changing your tooth brushing pattern you ensure that all your tooth   surfaces are getting a thorough tooth brushing.

· Choose the right toothbrush. When choosing a toothbrush, a soft toothbrush with rounded bristles will do just fine. The shape and size of   the toothbrush should be such, to allow you to reach all the way to your back teeth. You don’t need a fancy toothbrush. A common   toothbrush in the hand of somebody who knows how to brush teeth is an excellent tool indeed.

· Change your toothbrush often. It is important to change your toothbrush at least every 6 months, more often if you wish.

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