The American Dental Association promotes a daily oral hygiene regimen that includes brushing your teeth in the morning and evening, as well as thoroughly flossing once per day. Good oral hygiene will remove the plaque buildup, food particles, and other bacterial deposits from your mouth before they can contribute to tooth decay and gum disease.
When brushing your teeth, you should take your time. You should spend about two minutes brushing, twice a day, using a toothbrush with soft bristles and a fluoridated toothpaste with mild abrasives.
If there are areas in your smile that you’re struggling to brush effectively, you might want to try using a small interdental brush. This is essentially a miniature toothbrush, with an angled and tapered brush head. It can allow you to comfortably clean hard to reach places around the contours of your teeth and gumline. An interdental brush can be especially handy if you need help cleaning food and bacterial deposits from braces or other dental work.
Once you are done brushing and flossing, you might want to rinse with antiseptic mouthwash. Doing so can help remove loosened material and also reduce the bacteria in your mouth.
If you live in the Austin, Texas, area and you have questions or concerns your oral hygiene you should call 512-351-9313 to schedule a dental checkup with our dentist, Dr. Tom Supakorndej and the staff at Diamond Dental Family and Implant Dentistry.