Dental Hygiene
 There are two main aspects to dental hygiene, namely, daily home care, and in office biannual dental cleanings with a professional hygienist. Both steps are valuable to your dental health, but the most important step is what you do at home each day. Without the development of a daily hygiene routine, you can not be successful in your dental care. At Medhat Dental Excellence, we are happy to provide our patients with the tips and tools they need to be successful. There are techniques and bits of information that can make your home hygiene routine more effective.
Tips and Techniques to Improve Your Oral Hygiene
Ideally, you are brushing your teeth at least twice a day, when your day begins and before you retire to bed. Here are some suggestions that can help:
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Brush how it fits your schedule: Some people like to brush after eating their morning meal, and this may be ideal to remove food debris, but we want you to do whatever comes easiest, if you eat on your way out the door each morning and frequently forget to brush, then we would rather you brush with your regular morning bathroom routine. Morning brushing freshens your breath and removes the bacteria particles that collected at night.
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Brush Position: There is a technique that can improve how you brush, we suggest tilting the brush. Most people are taught to brush by placing the brush flat against their teeth, we suggest angling the brush at a 45-degree angle tilted toward the gum. The gumline is where plaque tends to accumulate, you want to remove it.
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Food Choices Matter: The largest contributor to caries and decay is sugar. Sugar is found in so much of the food we eat, besides treats and goodies, sugar is found in bread, pasta, fruits and more. Patients who frequently drink juice, particularly children, often suffer from cavities. Avoid sugar. Drink more water.
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Flossing: Flossing is a very important step that most people do with much drudgery. You must floss to keep your teeth and gums healthy. We recommend flossing at least once a day, preferably at the end of your day. When you floss, we want you to form a letter C with the line versus an up and down movement. Forming the thread into a C formation will help scoop debris and bacteria from between your teeth. If flossing is something you dread, try varying options from flossing sticks to water parks, there are options available. Find the tool and the schedule that works for you, some patients report using a flossing stick while they watch tv, try different tips, we want you to be successful.
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Drink Water: Water helps remove bacteria, remove food and plaque. Drink lots of water every day. It can do wonders for your teeth. |
We want to help you be successful in your dental hygiene, if you or your kids are experiencing difficulty in an area, talk to us about it, we can provide you information from our years of experience.
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