How to brush, floss and take care of our teeth.

Oral hygiene plays an important role to your overall health, since the oral cavity is constantly exposed to bacteria. The bacteria in our mouths can travel through our blood stream and cause infection in our body. Current research suggests that oral infection, such as periodontitis, can contribute to heart disease, pneumonia, diabetes, and even low birth weight. With proper oral hygiene practice, we can keep our teeth, gums and body healthy.

Most of you are already brushing twice a day, but you may not be doing it properly. There is actually a technique shown to effectively remove plaque, called modified bass brushing. Simply put, you hold the toothbrush horizontally and tilt it 45 degrees toward your gums. Then, you make short side-to-side strokes and flick the toothbrush towards the biting edge of your teeth. This allows the bristles to get underneath your gums to remove hiding plaque. Make sure to brush your tongue too.

Brushing alone cannot remove all the debris between your teeth. So while flossing can be cumbersome, it must be done. If you haven’t flossed recently, you may experience some bleeding, but don’t worry. It’s perfectly normal. Bleeding is a sign of gingival inflammation, so flossing those areas well will improve your oral health. Hug each tooth with the floss and use scraping up and down motions on each tooth.

Keep up your oral hygiene as daily maintenance is really important and will prolong tooth longevity. Also, make sure to see your dentist biannually for checkups and cleanings! 

Blog post by Dr. Wesley Hung, DDS. Proudly providing great dental care in Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino and Wildomar CA.