When you’re going through the motions of your dental hygiene on a daily basis, you may not be doing your best (even though your intentions are in the right place and you think you’re getting your smile nice and clean). The good news is that there is always room for a quick refresh to check in on your habits, to make sure nothing has fallen by the wayside, and to make the absolute most of your efforts in front of your bathroom sink. Let’s quickly review (and possibly improve) your brushing and flossing for your healthiest smile yet.
With Your Brushing
When you are doing your best to optimize your brushing, it’s essential that you don’t just run your toothbrush over your smile and think you’ve done a great job. Instead, following dental hygiene guidelines closely will ensure your efforts actually pay off. Make sure the details are something you adhere to on a daily basis:
- You use a toothbrush that has soft bristles
- Your toothpaste has fluoride in it but it does not contain any abrasive ingredients
- You brush your entire smile for two minutes when you brush
- You brush all tooth surfaces you can reach, including the tissue along your gumline
- You brush two times every day
With Your Flossing
Just like with brushing your teeth, if you’re performing the flossing portion of your dental hygiene correctly, that success arrives as the result of following simple yet important guidelines, including:
- You start with around 18 inches of floss
- You use a new portion of dental floss every time you switch to a new space in your smile
- Your flossing happens at least once daily
- You floss between all of your teeth, as well as behind back teeth
- You begin flossing just beneath your gumline and then work your way up
