Your Dental Care

You've only got one set of permanant teeth and it's important to take good care of them. In addition to regular visits to your dentist for a professional cleaning and dental examination, regular brushing and flossing are two easy things that you can do to help keep your teeth healthy.

Brushing Your Teeth
Regular brushing is important, but you must take care to brush properly to keep your teeth and gums healthy. Brushing only takes a couple of minutes, but doing it regularly and correctly can make all the difference. While brushing after every meal or snack is ideal, you should at least try to brush twice a day - when you wake up and before you go to sleep.

How To Brush:
1. Tilt your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and start at the gum line on the front of your teeth.
2. Gently move the brush back and forth from the front of your mouth to the back, using short strokes.
3. After cleaning the front of your teeth, turn your brush vertically and use gentle up-and-down strokes to clean the inner surfaces of your teeth.
4. Next brush the chewing surfaces of your teeth by brushing back and forth over the tops of your back teeth.
5. Be sure that you cleaned the gum line, back teeth (they are important, even if they're hard to reach) and the areas around any dental work (e.g., crowns, fillings).
6. Repeat these steps on both sides of your mouth, top and bottom.
7. Finally, take several seconds to brush your tongue to keep your breath fresh.

About toothbrushes:
Dental professionals encourage the use of medium-stiff bristled toothbrushes. Although they may require a little longer brushing time, soft bristle brushes are very effective for removing debris and plaque from your teeth. If used too agressively, harder brushes can damage the soft tissues that surround your teeth and also cause unnecessary wear on the enamel that protects your teeth.

Flossing Your Teeth
In addition to regular brushing you should also make flossing a regular part of your daily routine - dentists recommend flossing once a day. Flossing cleans between your teeth, where your toothbrush can't reach. Even though you may not be able to see it, debris and plaque will build up between teeth and can lead to problems. It is a good idea to floss after brushing since it shows how much debris is missed by the toothbrush.

How To Floss:
1. Break off about 18 inches of floss and wind most of it around each of your middle fingers, leaving about two inches to work with.
2. Pull the floss taut between your fingers and gently slide it between each tooth (be careful not to hurt your gums).
3. Work the floss around each tooth and the surrounding gum line in a C-shape.
4. Gently slide the floss up and down between each tooth and gum, going beneath the gum line.
5. Use clean sections of floss as you repeat this process on each tooth.

About dental floss:
There are a number of kinds of dental floss available. You need to choose the kind that is most comfortable for you to use - waxed, unwaxed, thin, thick, flavored or unflavored. The kind of floss you use is not as important as making flossing a part of your everyday routine. It should be noted that unwaxed floss tends to shred more than waxed floss.

BRUSHING AND FLOSSING FOR KIDS
Brushing:
You should begin to brush your child's teeth when they come in - most children's teeth have come in by age 2. At first you should brush them with a small drop (pea-sized drop) of fluoride toothpaste. As your child gets older let him use his own toothbrush - but you should put the toothpaste on the toothbrush until about age 6. Also, remember that very young children usually cannot get their teeth clean by themselves. Until your children are about 7 years old, you should brush their teeth after they do.

Flossing:
You should begin to floss your child's teeth as soon as they fit closely together. As you teach your child about brushing, you should also include lessons on flossing. If your child is not flossing, up to 35% of his or her tooth surfaces are left untouched and unclean.