Tooth brushing mistakes you make, how to fi x them

As easy as it may seem to do, ver   few of us brush our teeth as well as we could. Th ankfully, where there are mistakes, there are ways to fi x them.

1. You pick the wrong brush. How do you choose from the mind-melting selection of brushes at your local supermarket? Th e size of the brush’s head is important, too, especially if you have a smaller mouth. Brushes also have various sizes of handles and different angles. Some are more flexible than others.

But the critical part, dentists agree, is the bristles that remove the bacteria and loosen plaque from your teeth and gums. Th at plaque can cause gum disease and lead to tooth decay.

2. You go to town on your teeth. When it comes to brushing, harder isn’t better. “I think one of the biggest issues that people have is that they try to scrub their teeth too hard.

Th ey feel like if they really don’t go at the teeth, like they’re trying to clean the grout in their bathroom tile, that they’re not doing the right job,” says Matt Messina, a dentist from Fairview Park, Plaque is soft and loose, so you don’t have to scrub, Messina says.

 

3. You rush You should brush at least twice a day for 2 minutes each time. But you’re late for school or work. Or you want to get to bed. Once in a while, you need to cut that brushing short.

4. You hold on too long When you fi nd a good toothbrush, it’s sometimes hard to give it up. But when you see changes in the bristles — when they become discolored, bent, or dirty looking — it’s time to chuck the brush. It loses its powers when the bristles become frayed. So change it at least every 3 to 4 months. Also, it’s smart not to share your brush with anyone else. And keep it in the open air to keep mold or bacteria from growing on it when it’s wet.

5. You go back and forth. It’s a common brushing boo-boo — going along your teeth, left to right. Again, think massage, not scrub. “Start from the gum, and go up and down,” in little circular, up-and-down motions, says Sangeeta Gajendra, a dentist at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health in Rochester, NY. She says if you do it wrong, it won’t help you.

6. You forget the gum line Bacteria often hang out where your tooth meets your gum. We miss that area a lot. “You have about a millimeter of gum tissue where your tooth comes outside your gum, you want to kind of get under there, just about a millimeter, maybe 2 or 3 millimeters, right under the gum,” Harms says. “So the bristle needs to be able to bend.” Brushing your teeth, it turns out, means brushing your whole tooth. Or at least everything you can get to with your brush. And that includes just under the gum.

7. You don’t make one time wonderful Brush at least twice a day, at least 2 minutes each time. Every day. Don’t let up. But maybe just as important, Messina says, is to make sure that at least one of those times is exceptional. Th at’s brushing, fl ossing, mouthwash, the whole bit. “As long as we go in and stir up the bacteria once every 24 hours, we can keep them less productive and less dangerous,” he says. “But once a day,” Messina says, “a good thorough brushing-fl ossingrinsing does wonders.” -webmd.com

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