Teeth Brushing 101

Brushing our teeth is an everyday activity for all of us. Yet, the majority of adults do not know the correct method to properly brush their teeth. This can lead to oral concerns in the long run including but not limited to; plaque, calculus, bleeding gums, bad breath, gum diseases, caries and tooth discolouration.

Most of these dental problems do not evoke any symptoms or pain until they have progressed to a relatively advanced stage. In fact, many people search the internet on “how to brush my dogs teeth” when they should be searching for “how to brush my teeth”.

There have been various tooth brushing techniques suggested by dentists but the most accepted brushing technique is The Bass Method.

Listed below is a step by step the strategy for effectively brushing your teeth keeping dental problems at bay.

• Always use a soft bristled tooth brush. Hard bristles can damage your gums leading to gingival recession
• Wet your toothbrush first and then put a pea sized amount of toothpaste on to the brush
• Hold the tooth brush tilted at an angle of 45 degrees towards your gums. The upper teeth should be cleaned first. Begin at the frontal aspect of the most back teeth and clean the teeth 3 at a time
• Use short back and forth motions without exerting too much pressure on your teeth. Concentrate on the part of tooth which is nearer to the gums as improper cleaning of this part is most often responsible for gum diseases
• First clean the frontal surface of teeth, then the chewing surface and lastly the inner surfaces. If you find the head of the brush too large to maintain the 45 degree angle while cleaning the inner surface of teeth, use the brush vertically
• Lift the brush and move to the next 3 teeth and repeat the same process cleaning the outer, chewing and inner surfaces
• Continue along the arch until you reach the end of it and then shift to the lower teeth and clean them in a similar way
• Brush gently along the gum line of your tooth as this effectively dislodges any accumulated food debris (on which bacteria grows)
• Brush your tongue too which will keep bad breath away

Article Source Dentalhealth.com