Careful and adequate oral hygiene reduces the risk of disease. The essential part of daily dental care is manual cleaning, brushing your teeth, always indispensable.
At Missouri City Dentistry, believe that everyone deserves the best dental care. Missouri City Dentistry provides a wide variety of services to meet all of your needs and wants, including preventive dentistry, teeth whitening, cosmetic dentistry, teeth cleaning, and much more! Missouri City Dentistry patients have left with gleaming smiles and happy hearts after their visit!
Dental care is more than just brushing your teeth.
Around two-thirds of the population brush their teeth twice a day, as recommended. Nevertheless, almost all of them suffer from tooth decay. The conclusion that there is a lot of catching up to do with each individual in their daily dental care routine is obvious. A good rule of thumb is to brush your teeth at least twice a day, brush for around three minutes, and use dental floss every day. In addition, other oral hygiene aids provide support. Too often, the influence of a tooth-friendly diet is underestimated.
Dental care begins with brushing your teeth.
Brushing your teeth is the basis of all dental care and cannot be replaced by any other measure. This manual cleaning operation of the teeth removes dental plaque on the teeth and at the gumline. Plaque removal is crucial as it is the breeding ground for bacteria. The bacteria cause tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontal disease and are the leading cause of bad breath.
So, there are many real reasons to brush your teeth thoroughly in the morning and evening — ideally after all meals. Invest two to three minutes at a time in brushing your teeth. It is most beneficial to brush your teeth according to a set schedule. Do this with a toothbrushing technique. Trust and follow this sequence of movements.
Dental care tips:
- Use the correct toothbrush twice a day
- Use toothpaste containing fluoride
- Clean the toothbrush after brushing your teeth
- Use tools such as dental floss and interdental brushes
- Regular professional teeth cleaning
- Don’t forget to take care of your teeth for babies and children
The right toothbrush
The tool, the toothbrush, is also essential for good dental hygiene and more effective dental care. The toothbrush should brush comfortably for you and not cause pain. We recommend using a toothbrush with a brush head that is not too large – to avoid damaging the gums.
Even if stiff bristles clean effectively, it is better to use medium-hard to soft bristles to avoid injuries and thus protect gums and tooth enamel. An electric toothbrush is not necessarily the better tool, but it can make brushing your teeth much more accessible and is often perceived as more convenient. Pay attention to the following hygienic instructions with the regular toothbrush and also with the electric toothbrush:
Toothbrush hygiene
- Rinse the toothbrush thoroughly underwater after brushing your teeth.
- Ensure that it is correctly stored so that the brush head can dry quickly to avoid the formation of bacteria.
- The toothbrush should be changed around every three months.
Toothpaste & Co.
The toothpaste you can buy in stores today contains all of the same ingredients essentially. Some toothpaste brands contain surfactants and mechanical abrasives to clean teeth. To prevent tooth decay above all, toothpaste contains fluoride fortified, which strengthens tooth enamel. The grinding abrasives always have a more or less strong abrasive effect on the tooth enamel.
Very abrasive toothpaste is therefore rather unsuitable for restorative dental care, as they impair the tooth substance. The RDA value on toothpaste packaging corresponds to the level of abrasiveness in the product. Use toothpaste with a fluoride content between 10% and 15% (1000ppm – 1500ppm) and a low RDA value. Use age-appropriate children’s toothpaste for young children.
Dental floss and other dental care aids
For optimal and strongly possible dental care that blocks dental diseases, brushing your teeth alone is not enough. In any case, a sustainable dental hygiene routine includes the use of dental floss. Because only with the dental floss you can reach and remove food residues and dental plaque, a breeding ground for bacteria, in the interdental spaces. The dental floss thus serves to prevent tooth decay and gum disease.
Daily flossing would be ideal. Interdental brushes clean the interdental spaces even more thoroughly than dental floss, as the tensioned dental floss cannot reach the bulges on the sides of the teeth. Mouthwashes can never replace brushing your teeth or the use of dental floss but can only be used as a support or in case of inflammation.