Are you doing everything you can at home in order to maintain a healthy and beautiful smile? Our Glendale dental team is here to help you optimize your oral health efforts. So keep reading this short article in order to learn more about how you can best care for your smile day to day.
It is the American Dental Association’s (ADA) recommendation that dental patients brush their teeth twice a day and floss once a day. When, exactly, you do these things matter!
- Brush your teeth in the morning in order to give your smile a fresh start from the night before
- Brush your teeth right before bed in order to clear away the plaque that’s developed during the day
- Floss your teeth before you brush at night—this will help you clear away as much accumulated plaque as possible
There are also some things you should keep in mind about your brushing routine, in order to make sure that you’re brushing in the best way:
- Brush your teeth for at least two minutes every time that you brush
- Be careful not to apply too much pressure to your teeth when you are brushing, this can actually lead to enamel deterioration
- Move your toothbrush in small circular motions over the surfaces of your enamel
- Use a toothbrush with an appropriate type of bristle for your smile—for most people, this means using a soft-bristled toothbrush
- Wait at least twenty minutes after eating to brush your teeth—in the twenty minutes directly after eating your enamel may be softer due to acid exposure
Your dentist can give you further personalized recommendations about how to care for your smile at home. If you are already doing all of these things, but you feel like your smile is not as clean as you’d like it to be, your dentist may add a mouth rinse to your daily routine.
If you want to learn more about how to best care for your smile, please feel free to call our Glendale dentist to schedule a consultation. We look forward to speaking with you!