Things You Shouldn't Be Doing While Brushing Your Teeth

If you want to keep your teeth for future use while showing off a healthy smile now, it’s important to make sure that you’re doing the important routine maintenance your mouth and teeth require. Flossing once a day, brushing twice a day, and visiting the dental office for tooth cleaning twice a year may seem easy enough. However, many people miss these important steps to maintaining to maintaining an amazing smile. Here are some things you shouldn’t be doing while brushing your teeth.

Using an Old Tooth Brush

Tooth brushes are generally good for 200 uses, or about three months of work. An older tooth brush has bristles that are worn and less flexible; they don’t reach the areas they should. Worse, brushes can accumulate food particles and bacteria, the very things that cause tooth decay, over those months of use. A new tooth brush every three months keeps your smile looking new and your teeth cleaner.

Spending Too Little Time Brushing

The recommended time for brushing your teeth is two minutes. It sounds like a little amount of time. However, as anyone in television can tell you, two minutes is a lot of time to fill. When you’re doing something mundane, like brushing your teeth, two minutes can feel like an eternity. Get an egg timer, set it for two minutes, and brush until you hear the “ding.” It will give your teeth the opportunity to take on the fluoride in the paste as a protective and nutritive barrier.

Rinsing Your Mouth

Spit out the toothpaste, and stop there. Using water to rinse your mouth dilutes the effectiveness of the fluoride you’ve just applied to your teeth. If you must rinse, use a mouthwash that contains fluoride. Otherwise, just spit and forget the rinse.

Using Hard Bristles

When looking for a toothbrush, choose one with soft or extra soft bristles. Hard bristles can hurt your gums and, if used too exuberantly, score your teeth. This removal of enamel can result in sensitive teeth and worse.

Going Back and Forth

Your teeth are placed horizontally in your mouth, so it seems like a back and forth motion would be efficient. It’s not. You want to move your brush in circles to take full advantage of the two minutes that you use it. Going around and around allows the bristles to reach more places, and using a lighter touch will ensure you get the best from your brush.

The Same Old Routine

It’s easy to go on auto-pilot when brushing your teeth. In many areas, developing a routine is helpful, keeping your teeth clean is not one of them. Change up your routine to make sure that you’re getting all the areas cleaned. For the best in general dentistry services in Houston, TX, and more information on effective tooth brushing, contact Made Ya Smile today and schedule your appointment. Talk to the team at Made Ya Smile today to learn more!