What’s the best way to brush your teeth?

You’ve been brushing your teeth for years, but do you ever wonder if you are doing it correctly? We at your Epping Dentist are always going on about how important it is, so we decided to give you a quick “brush up” on brushing your teeth!

Please, do read this as you might learn something very useful you didn’t previously know.

The first thing is to use a small, soft brush. Ditch your brush if it is hard as that is more likely to damage your teeth or gums.

A pea-sized ball of fluoridated toothpaste on your toothbrush is plenty, your Epping Dentist says.

Hold your brush sideways but at a 45° angle to your teeth. That way, your gums, as well as your teeth, will be cleaned.

For your brushing action, mimic what an electric toothbrush does and brush gently in tiny circles. Spend 3 seconds on each tooth surface, i.e., each of the inside, outside, and chewing surfaces.

It will be easier to do all the inside teeth surfaces on your upper jaw, then all its outside surfaces, etc. But remember to do this for both your upper and lower jaws.

The technique to use for inside your front teeth is slightly different. There you will need to brush up and down so you can reach their crevices properly.

Once you have finished with your teeth, brush your tongue from back to front gently to remove any bacteria from your mouth.

If possible, avoid rinsing your mouth so the toothpaste can continue acting on your teeth for longer.

Brush your teeth at least twice a day, and one of those times should follow on from your daily flossing.

You can see that to do all this will take quite a while – 3 seconds per tooth-surface per tooth per jaw!  It’s not the most thrilling activity, so you might find it more pleasant if you listen to a favourite, short song at the same time. When you next visit your Epping Dentist, do let us know what your best tooth brushing song is!