Do you know if you’re doing your best with dental hygiene? While we are always happy to go over the essentials with you regarding how often to brush, how to brush, which products to use, how to floss, and more, there are some little missteps you might be making on a daily basis that can throw you off track. To ensure your efforts are providing you with the results you want (a healthy smile), let’s review a few details you might be getting wrong – so you can start getting them right!
Hygiene Details: Right or Wrong?
Wrong: “I’m short on time, I’d better brush harder since I’m rushing!”
Right: Do yourself a favor and do what you can with gentle brushing – and then reorganize your schedule to permit sufficient time for twice daily brushing. Brushing twice a day is essential. Brushing for two minutes each time you brush will ensure your brushing is effective. Unfortunately, there’s no way around this dental hygiene requirement. In addition, brushing harder will not benefit you, it may only irritate your gum tissue and may eventually cause tooth sensitivity.
Wrong: “I’m too tired to floss tonight – I’ll just floss twice tomorrow!”
Right: Remember that you need to floss once every day. Doubling up on floss won’t do you much good because of the following fact: Plaque covers your teeth every day. It hardens into an extremely hard substance (called tartar – or calculus) when it’s left for as few as 24 hours. Flossing extra over impossible-to-brush-or-floss-away-tartar will not do you any good. It’s consistent flossing that offers benefits.
Wrong: “My smile still feels and looks really clean since my last dental visit – I’ll just start scheduling cleanings and checkups one every year or two.”
Right: Schedule your twice annual visits no matter what. We suggest this for patients who are dedicated to dental hygiene and those who are not. Everyone needs a professional cleaning for complete plaque and tartar care and everyone needs consistent monitoring of their oral health.
