Easy Ways to Improve Your Brushing and Flossing

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends everyone brush and floss their teeth twice a day. If you are worried that you are not keeping your teeth as clean as you could be, follow these simple tips to improve your brushing and flossing.

Use the Right Brush

Just like everyone has a type of mattress they prefer over the others, everyone has a favorite toothbrush. Unfortunately, the one you are using might be bad for your gums and be the cause of all that blood in the sink when you spit out your toothpaste.

Dentists recommend everyone use a soft toothbrush rather than a firm one. These bristles are tough enough to eliminate plaque while being gentle on the gums. A rounded head is also ideal since you will be able to reach your back molars without hitting the side of your mouth.

Go Electric

The average toothbrush design has been used for decades but is not as effective as it could be. If you struggle to eliminate plaque and keep your teeth clean, consider switching to an electric toothbrush. These models move the bristles and help dislodge plaque and built-up food from between the teeth, keeping them cleaner.

Floss Both Sides

When you floss, do you just stick the string in between the teeth without paying attention to where it goes? You could be missing important pockets of plaque buildup if so.

The proper way to floss is to gently move the string between your teeth and reach all the way down to the gums. You need to do so in such a way that you are able to reach the bottom left of one tooth and the bottom right of another without removing the string from between the teeth. This is done by carefully moving the floss, so it reaches the gums underneath both teeth.

Once you are done with a segment, wipe off the floss before continuing to another section. If you don’t, you can end up just moving the plaque around and not eliminating it from the mouth.