What brushing and flossing are for
Plaque is a soft, sticky film of bacteria that builds up on your teeth every day. Left in place, it irritates the gums, and the bacteria in it turn sugar into the acid that causes decay. Given long enough, it hardens into tartar, which no toothbrush can remove.
Brushing and cleaning between the teeth break up that film before it does harm, which makes them the half of preventive dentistry that happens at home. It is less about scrubbing hard and more about reaching every surface, including the ones you cannot see.
How to brush your teeth properly
Brush twice a day, for about two minutes each time, with a fluoride toothpaste. Here is what helps:
- Use a soft brush. Hard bristles and a heavy hand wear enamel and push the gums back without cleaning any better.
- Angle the bristles toward the gum line, where plaque collects, and use small, gentle circles or short strokes rather than long scrubbing sweeps.
- Go around your mouth in the same order every time: outsides, insides, then chewing surfaces, so nothing gets skipped.
- Take extra care with the insides of the lower front teeth and the backs of the last molars, two places that are easy to miss.
- Brush your tongue too, or use a scraper, from back to front.
- Spit out the extra toothpaste but do not rinse, so the fluoride stays on your teeth.
How to floss properly
Cleaning between your teeth once a day reaches the surfaces a brush cannot, where two teeth touch. Floss does that well when it is used well:
- Take a length long enough to wind around a finger of each hand, so you can move to a clean section for each gap.
- Ease it between the teeth with a gentle back-and-forth motion, rather than snapping it down onto the gum.
- Curve it into a C around one tooth, slide it just under the gum line, and move it up and down the side of the tooth.
- Then curve it around the neighboring tooth and do the same before moving on to the next gap.
If floss is not for you
Other tools do the same job, and the right one is the one you will actually use every day. Small brushes made to fit between the teeth suit wider gaps and are easier for many people to hold. A water flosser helps people who find floss fiddly.
Dental work needs a little extra. A floss threader or a water flosser gets under a bridge, an implant is brushed and cleaned between like a natural tooth, and a denture comes out every day to be cleaned with a soft brush and a denture cleaner rather than toothpaste.
Why do gums bleed when you start flossing?
Gums that are not used to being cleaned between often bleed at first. That is usually inflammation from plaque that has been sitting there, not damage from the floss, and the answer is to keep going, gently, every day, rather than to stop.
Bleeding that comes from plaque usually settles once the gums are cleaned properly every day. If it does not, or if your gums are swollen, sore or pulling back from the teeth, call and let us measure them, because that can be the start of gum disease. Bleeding gums covers the other causes.
What the hygienist shows you
Oral hygiene instruction is part of the care here, and it is not a lecture. The hygienist can see exactly where plaque and tartar have built up, which shows where your brush or floss is missing. They will show you those spots in your own mouth, and the angle or tool that reaches them.
Bring the questions you have wondered about: electric or manual, which floss, whether a mouthwash is worth it. If cleaning is hard because of arthritis, a bridge, an implant or a denture, say so, and we will work out a routine that fits. It is all part of your cleaning and exam.
Snacks, sweet drinks and your teeth
Each time you eat or drink something with sugar or starch in it, the bacteria on your teeth make acid, and the acid draws minerals out of the enamel. Saliva puts some of them back between meals. The trouble starts when the attacks come so often that saliva cannot catch up.
So how often matters, not just how much. A soda sipped over an afternoon keeps your teeth under attack for hours. Keep sweet things to mealtimes where you can, drink water in between, and chew sugar-free gum after a meal to get saliva flowing.
Questions patients ask
Is an electric toothbrush better than a manual one?
Both clean well when they are used properly. An electric brush does some of the work for you and often has a timer, which helps if you have arthritis or tend to rush. The better brush is the one you use well, twice a day.
Should I keep flossing if my gums bleed?
Yes, gently. Bleeding when you start is usually inflammation from plaque, and it tends to settle once the area is cleaned every day. If it carries on, or the gums are swollen or sore, call so we can check them.
Do I need to use mouthwash?
Not usually, if you brush and clean between your teeth well. A rinse does not remove plaque the way a brush and floss do. If you are prone to cavities or have a dry mouth, ask us whether a particular rinse would help you.
How hard should I brush?
Gently. Plaque is soft, and scrubbing hard wears the enamel and pushes the gums back without cleaning any better. If your brush looks worn out long before it is old, you are probably pressing too hard.