Brushing and flossing is the first step to maintain good oral health. Routine home care will help to prevent dental decay, gum disease and other oral infections. It will also reduce bad breath, remove harmful bacteria and food debris, and improve the appearance and health of your teeth, gums and overall health. Rinsing is an important practice that you can also incorporate into your daily oral hygiene routine. Oral rinsing can be done with water, warm saline rinses and over-the-counter mouthwash.
Brushing:
- Brush your teeth two times a day for 2 to 3 minutes (morning and at night)
- Use a soft bristled toothbrush
- When using a manual tooth brush, place the brush on a 45-degree angle at the gum line
- Gently flex and sweep/roll down the brush from the gum line in flexing motion
- Repeat this step for 5 to 10 times in each area, always overlapping the strokes as you move on to the next section
- You can use circular to back-and forth motion on the chewing surfaces of your teeth
- Place the tooth brush every 2 months or when the bristles are bent or worn out
- You should always replace your toothbrush after suffering from a cold or flu.
- Electric toothbrushes are also effective and recommended.
Flossing:
- Floss your teeth one to two times a day
- Floss before you brush
- String floss or floss picks are both effective- use what works best for you
- Use a floss approximately 40cm long
- Wrap most of the floss around the middle fingers (both hands)
- Leave approximately 6cm of floss in between the two middle fingers and use the thumb and the index finger to hold the floss, leaving about 2cm
- Floss should be tight and gently placed between the teeth (sawing-motion), making sure that you are adapting the floss on the tooth surface
- Use back-and-forth and up-and-down motion to remove the plaque off your teeth and below the gum line, ensuring that you floss both sides of the teeth
- Only use gently force so that you do not damage the gum tissue and get floss cuts
- Floss holder /sticks are a great alternative for those who have difficulty using the traditional method of flossing.