On average, we smile at least 50 times a day. So you want beautiful, white teeth and a movie-star smile even if you aren’t a star.  Everyone remembers a bright, radiant smile—it leaves a lasting first impression. But there’s so much more to a pretty smile.

What is Good Oral Hygiene

Oral means relating to or involving your mouth.  Hygiene means practices that serve to promote and preserve health.  Put them together and you have a healthy mouth.

Your dentist or hygienist can help you learn good oral hygiene techniques and help point out areas of your mouth that may require attention during brushing and flossing.

Good oral hygiene results in your mouth looking and smelling healthy.  That means that:

• Your teeth are clean and free of debris
• Your gums are pink and they don’t hurt or bleed when you brush or floss
• Your breath smells good.  Bad breath is not a constant problem.

If your gums do hurt or bleed while brushing or flossing, or you have persistent bad breath, do see your dentist.  Any of these conditions may indicate a problem

How is good oral hygiene practiced?

Flossing
Always floss before you brush your teeth.  As one dentist said, “You only floss the teeth you want to keep.”  Flossing removes pieces of food that may be stuck between your teeth.  Leaving them can create cavities.  Floss after every meal and before brushing.

Yes, you should floss every day and every time you brush your teeth in order to clean between your teeth.  That will go a long way towards avoiding plaque buildup and gum disease.

Daily flossing will reduce bacteria below the gum line as well as between the teeth.  People with high levels of the bacteria that cause periodontal disease have a greater risk of clogged arteries.  Other research has linked the bacteria to high blood sugar.  The bottom line, it pays to floss regularly.

Brush your teeth and do it well
Has your dentist ever told you that you’re not brushing your teeth properly? There’s actually a special brushing method endorsed by the American Dental Association called the Bass technique. It’s widely recognized for effectively cleaning all surfaces of your teeth and removing plaque from the gum line.

Brushing removes food caught in your teeth, sugar, bacteria, etc.  Brush down to your gums to get any food caught there.  It helps to remove plaque. Make sure to brush your gum line at a 45-degree angle and use short, quick strokes to brush each tooth so the bristles scrub underneath your gums.

It’s recommended that you brush your teeth for up to five minutes, twice a day, using this technique. But let’s be honest, who spends that much time brushing every day? In fact, studies show that most adults only brush their teeth anywhere from 29 seconds to 1 minute. And the average time brushing is 40 seconds.

Brush twice a day
For healthy teeth, brush them at least twice a day.  We typically brush in the morning before or after breakfast, and then when we go to bed at night.  A recent study found that you could reduce plaque deposits by 67% and gum bleeding by 50% by dry brushing for one and a half minutes before using toothpaste.

Gargle frequently.
Brushing at lunch won’t hurt you, but if you’re typical, that just isn’t practical.  Even if you can’t brush after a meal, cut down on mouth bacteria by 30% just by rinsing your mouth with water.

An effective and inexpensive “tooth paste”
A simple and effective tooth cleaning is baking soda and 3% hydrogen peroxide.  You can buy them separately and inexpensively at a grocery store.  Place the baking soda in a plastic squeeze bottle and the 3% hydrogen peroxide in a small spritzer bottle.  Dispense the baking soda directly onto a moist brush and then spritz the hydrogen peroxide onto the booth brush and baking soda.  Gently vibrate this mixture into the small pockets around your teeth.  Allow the mixture to bubble and then rinse.

What about fluoride
Many tooth pastes contain fluoride because many dentists think it strengthens your teeth.  Fluoride hardens tooth enamel and makes teeth strong.  Warning:  while fluoride is recommended by many dentists, others are concerned that it is an injurious toxin. Once again, that leaves us trying to make a good decision when the experts don’t agree.

How long should you brush?
Scouring your teeth for more than 2 minutes per session will not remove additional plaque, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology.  In fact, it may damage your gums and enamel.

Brushing for less than a minute may not get to and between all your teeth, so consider brushing that long.  Stick to a 1 to 2 minute cycle with a soft nylon bristle brush that you use with gentle force.

Change your toothbrush regularly.
If you change your toothbrush every month it won’t become a playpen for bacteria.  Be sure your toothbrush has soft bristles and get a new toothbrush no less than every 3 months.  Any plain brush with four or five rows of bristles will do.  Make sure it ahs the American Dental Association seal of approval.

Do you need an electric tooth brush?
A review of 42 trials showed that a regular tooth brush can remove as much plaque as most electric ones, while providing equal protection against inflamed gums.  The one exception was an electric toothbrush that can rotate and move back and forth cleans the best.

Should you see blood in your mouth after brushing?
No.  Any blood could be a warning sign of gum disease.  Report any sightings that last more than a day or two to your dentist.

Bad Breath
Food particles in and around your teeth breakdown and it can cause a foul odor. Another cause are foods that contain volatile oils, like onions, garlic and other vegetables and spices that are absorbed into your blood stream and exit through the lungs and mouth. Mints, mouthwashes and other types of these products only help control bad breath temporarily. Rinsing your mouth with water after brushing and flossing your teeth is more effective.

Clean your tongue
Why?  Because your tongue is #1 source of bad breath.   The solution is a good tongue-washing. Use a tongue cleaner to stroke your tongue from front to back. The secret is to clean as far back on the tongue as possible, where bacteria-rich material tends to stew. Reducing the bacterial population in your mouth helps keep your teeth and gums healthy, and your breath fresher.

Chew sugarless gum after eating
Every time you eat, bacteria in your mouth react chemically with the food and introduce an organic acid that can cause tooth decay.  By dislodging food, rinsing teeth, and diluting acid, saliva counters this process.  The key is to keep it flowing and that’s where chewing comes in, preferably sugarless gum.

Does chewing gum prevent cavities?
The answer is no when it comes to most chewing gum.  However, as long as the gum is sugarless it can get saliva flowing.  And saliva can rinse away food particles and reduce plaque buildup.  Xylitol, a sweetener in some sugarless gums, may help squash Streptococcus mutans – bacteria that contribute to cavities.

Preventing Tooth Injuries
Avoid accident or injury to your teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue by wearing a mouth guard while participating in sports and similar activities. Avoid chewing hard candies, popcorn kernels, ice and other hard objects that can break a tooth. Never attempt to open anything with your teeth.

Wear a tooth guard when you go to bed
You can buy one in your local drug store.  If you’ve been under stress, or sleep on your side or stomach, you could grind your teeth at night.  That takes a toll on your teeth, gums, and jaw bones.

See your dentist twice a year
To guarantee a mouth free of gum disease, you need to climb into the dentist’s chair at least twice a year.  He or she can scrape away the soft plaque before it hardens into tartar.

If you smoke, or have periodontal disease or diabetes, you may need cleaning and checkups every three to four months.

Cavities
Cavities are holes formed from germs in your mouth that use sugar from foods to make acid. These acids eat away at the teeth and form cavities. To avoid cavities visit the dentist twice a year, brush teeth at least twice per day and floss. Avoid sweets between meals and include snacks of fresh fruits, veggies and cheese and crackers.

Popularity: 2% [?]