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How To Care For Your Teeth To Promote Good Dental Health

Good dental health is something we should all strive for because who wants to wear dentures if we can keep our natural teeth? In order to keep our natural teeth, we need to eat nutritious foods, visit the dentist on a regular basis and follow proper dental hygiene. Do you know how to care for your teeth to promote good dental health? If you are unsure about how to care for your teeth this article will benefit you. You can also ask your dental hygienist to show you how to brush and floss your teeth as well as other ways to care for your teeth.

We all know we should brush our teeth after eating, but do we know how long to brush our teeth or what is the proper brushing technique that will help us to brush all the surfaces of our teeth? We learn how to brush teeth from our parents, caregivers, teachers and the staff at the dentist office. We can even learn how to brush our teeth from books and from movies. No matter how we first learned how to brush our teeth over time we tend to get sloppy in our brushing technique in the interest of saving time or simply because it is an activity that is not fun to do. We often forget just how important brushing our teeth is to not only our dental health but to our overall body health. We can also damage our gums if we brush too long or too hard.

Children five years of age and younger should have the teeth brushed by an adult.

Children age 5 to 8 should have supervision by an adult when they are brushing.

You really do not need to use too much pressure on the brush when you are brushing your teeth; it only takes a light touch to brush your teeth effectively. If you notice yellow tartar, brushing hard will not remove it; only a dental hygienist or a dentist can remove tartar.

Hold your toothbrush like you would a pen or pencil.

Brush for a minimum of 2 minutes but no longer than a few minutes.

Always use a soft bristled brush or you may cause damage to the gum.

You can use an order to your brushing if it helps you to remember to brush every tooth, every time.

Change your toothbrush on a regular basis, approximately every 3 months or whenever it looks worn before that time.

Ask the dentist what kind of toothpaste is right for you. The right toothpaste may change over time so ask periodically at your dental visits if you are still using the right toothpaste for your dental health.

Ask your dental hygienist to demonstrate for you how to properly brush every surface of your teeth and how to floss properly. If you are unsure ask them to watch you brush or floss to see if you need any adjustments to your technique.