Are you caring for your teeth as you should?

Posted on: 4 December 2020


Are you looking after your teeth carefully? Most people always intend to care for their teeth, so perhaps you started out with good intentions and remembered to brush them and to floss regularly, but if you are like a lot of people, it didn't take too long for this regime to start to slip. Perhaps, the busyness of life or the struggle of balancing a family and a full-time job started to intrude on those initial good intentions and you found yourself becoming satisfied with a more rudimentary attempt at oral hygiene? Whatever the current state of your daily routine, it is important to remember that good dental hygiene is essential. You might think that you do enough to get by, but here are three facts that your dentist would like to bring to your attention.

The attacks never stop

The battle against bacteria is never-ending. In your mouth, there are always bacteria attacking your teeth. Your mouth might feel clean, but plaque is continually coating your teeth with bacteria, which can only be removed by effective brushing and flossing. If you aren't brushing your teeth for at least two minutes both morning and evening, the plaque will continue to build-up until it starts to cause your teeth to decay.

Plaque hardens into tartar

While plaque is soft, it can be removed by simply brushing your teeth, however, if you don't brush your teeth regularly and you allow the plaque to harden, it becomes tartar and that is far more difficult to remove. Plaque makes it more difficult to brush your teeth and can be the cause of gum disease developing which may eventually lead to your tissues and bones being unable to support your teeth. Plaque can normally only be removed by a visit to the dentist, so you must try to stop it developing if you want to avoid more extensive dental treatment later on.

A dentist can help with your brushing technique

Many people are taught to brush their teeth as a child but don't give much thought to their brushing technique as they age. It can be easy to forget principles which have been learned as a child and to slip into bad brushing habits. If you would like help with establishing a proper tooth brushing technique or with any or part of your oral hygiene routine, then speak to your local dentist. A dentist will always be ready to explain how hard you should brush your teeth and what motion you should make with the toothbrush.

For more tips, reach out to a local dentist.