The Best Ways To Clean Your Teeth and Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene

Good oral health is essential if you want to enjoy all the benefits of healthy teeth and gums and protect your overall health as the two are closely linked. If you have poor oral hygiene, your risk of developing gum disease, tooth decay, and other mouth infections increases substantially. In comparison, following a good preventive oral care routine will save you time and money and potentially a great deal of heartache and pain.

Why Is Oral Hygiene Important?

Oral hygiene is necessary to remove dental plaque mechanically, a sticky biofilm containing harmful bacteria that builds up over your teeth surfaces and between teeth each day. The oral bacteria in dental plaque can cause caries (tooth decay) and periodontal disease (gum disease). When you brush and floss your teeth thoroughly, it removes dental plaque from your tooth surfaces, helping you maintain healthy teeth and gums more easily. Because the plaque is continually forming, it must be removed regularly. Even after you clean your teeth thoroughly, dental plaque begins forming again within minutes. 

If it has been a while since you last cleaned your teeth, you can even see and feel plaque as a soft whitish coloured deposit. While still soft, plaque is easily removed from teeth, but it hardens into calculus within just a few days. At this stage, this mineralised form of plaque can no longer be removed by a toothbrush and other interdental cleaning aids. Instead, it must be scaled or scraped away during your professional dental cleaning. Even if you clean your teeth thoroughly, some plaque will likely remain on your teeth, and this is why regular professional teeth cleaning is so important.

Tips for Maintaining Good Oral Health

Luckily, you can upgrade your oral hygiene routine relatively easily. A good oral health maintenance plan will only take a few minutes each day, and the oral health benefits are considerable. This can be especially difficult if you’re trying to get kids to maintain good oral hygiene. Here are some easy tips for oral health:

Brush Your Teeth Properly

The proper brushing technique is essential to remove the maximum amount of dental plaque. You need to think about what you are doing and brush your teeth methodically, cleaning each tooth surface using gentle circular motions. Concentrate on cleaning one section of your mouth before you move on to the next. If you are unsure about your brushing technique, ask your dentist.

Don’t Forget to Clean Your Tongue

Plaque can build up over your tongue, so don’t forget to clean it each time you brush your teeth. You can gently brush your tongue using your toothbrush or a tongue scraper that will only cost you a few dollars.

Always Brush Your Teeth before Bedtime

You need to brush your teeth at least twice a day, but it’s crucial to make sure you brush your teeth just before you go to sleep. Brushing your teeth before bedtime helps eliminate the plaque built up over the day and removes loose food particles, so you go to sleep with a cleaner mouth. This is important because your mouth is drier overnight as you produce less saliva. The drier conditions allow any remaining plaque bacteria to thrive.

Use Fluoridated Toothpaste

Fluoride protects your teeth by helping to harden your tooth enamel and fights the bacteria that cause disease. After brushing, spit out excess paste but don’t rinse as this will leave a protective layer of fluoride ions covering your teeth for a little longer.

Think about Using Mouthwash

Mouthwash can be a useful add-on to an oral hygiene routine, especially if you pick a good brand that has antimicrobial properties or which contains fluoride. Ask your dentist for recommendations and advice on choosing a good brand that will help with oral health maintenance.

Which Toothbrush to Use? Manual or Electric?

An electric toothbrush can be easier to use than a manual toothbrush, but a manual toothbrush can be equally as effective if you have an excellent brushing technique. There are several advantages in choosing an electric toothbrush, as they have built-in timers ensuring you brush for the full two minutes and can indicate when you have been brushing for 20 or 30 seconds and when it is time to clean the next section of your mouth. In addition, an electric toothbrush can be very useful for anyone with dexterity problems or difficulty holding a conventional manual toothbrush.

Whichever toothbrush you choose, make sure the head is small enough so you can clean right to the back of your mouth and use a toothbrush with soft bristles, so it doesn’t damage your teeth and gums. Also, make sure you replace your toothbrush or toothbrush head every three months or sooner if it begins to look worn and splayed. A worn toothbrush will not remove plaque so effectively.

Is Flossing Necessary?

Flossing is necessary as the interdental areas between your teeth can quickly accumulate dental plaque. This area is a common site for tooth decay and is often where periodontal disease first begins. 

Many people fail to floss regularly, only completing this essential task when they have something stuck between their teeth or just before a dentist check-up. However, the contact areas between your teeth account for one-third of all tooth surfaces and cannot be cleaned by your toothbrush. Therefore it’s essential to make sure you floss daily. 

How to Floss

One common mistake is to use a short piece of dental floss when you need about 45 cm to clean each tooth using a new section. To floss more effectively, wind most of the floss around your middle finger, winding the other end around your other middle finger. Leave a small section of floss in between that is easily manipulated by your thumbs and index fingers. Gently slide the floss between the tooth, holding it in a c-shape around the tooth and moving it carefully up and down several times to remove the maximum amount of dental plaque. Then, wind the floss on so you use a new section for the next tooth. If you find it tricky to floss, ask us for help as we can show you some easy techniques to try or discuss other tools to use, such as interdental brushes or a water pik.

How Much Does It Cost to See the Dentist?

Seeing a dentist is not expensive, and the oral health benefits far outweigh the dentist check-up costs. If you have dental insurance, the costs of regular professional teeth cleanings and your dentist check-ups are most likely covered. Do not wait until it is too late, emergency dental treatment is something you want to avoid!

When to See the Dentist?

At the very least, everyone needs an annual dental appointment in Gosnells for a teeth examination and professional teeth cleaning. This forms the basis of an oral hygiene care routine. 

However, many people will benefit from visiting a dental clinic in Gosnells biannually so that dental health can be monitored more closely. When you first see our dentist, we can assess your oral health and devise a custom treatment plan to improve it and maintain it easily. We provide dental service to children and adults.

In addition, our dentist in Gosnells can check your teeth carefully for any signs of dental problems. We can provide useful teeth cleaning tips and advice on improving oral health at home.