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Home Oral Care

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(937) 433-0110

Overview

Regular checkups and professional cleaning (officially known as dental prophylaxis) are crucial for both your oral health and your overall wellbeing. But how you care for your mouth at home is every bit as important.

Protecting your teeth from decay is a continual battle. The sugar from the food you eat in combination with the bacteria in your mouth leads to the formation of plaque. Plaque produces acids that gradually damage your teeth. Your teeth are robbed of minerals during this time, making them weaker.

This plaque must be cleared away before it forms tartar or calculus, a hard substance that can only be removed by a professional. Likewise, your teeth need a break from the acid and a chance to remineralize before the damage caused by the acid becomes permanent and a cavity forms.

This is why your home care routine is vital.

To care for your teeth at home…

You should be brushing your teeth for at least 2 minutes, twice a day. Use a toothpaste with fluoride to help keep your enamel strong.
You should floss your teeth each day to remove plaque from the spaces between your teeth and in the areas below your gumline, where your toothbrush can't reach. Don't skip flossing; it's your best defense against gum disease!
Rinsing with a mouthwash can help.
A healthy diet is important for a healthy mouth. Try to make sure you aren't snacking frequently between meals, as this exposes your teeth to acid more often.
Avoid all types of tobacco use.
Be sure to let us know if you have any concerns such as sensitivity, bleeding, or oral pain.

It's important to note that, while brushing and flossing are necessary, they may not be as effective as they could be if you're using improper technique. In fact, it's possible to damage your teeth if you use the wrong toothbrush or brush with too much force.

Please see our guides to brushing and flossing to make sure you're doing it correctly.

Tooth Brushing

What’s the Best Way to Brush My Teeth?

You should brush at least twice a day, for about 2 minutes each time.

To brush properly:

Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle to your gums.
Move the brush gently back and forth in short strokes.
Be sure to brush the entire surfaces of your teeth—the outer surfaces, the inner surfaces, the chewing surfaces, and even the backs of those hard-to-reach molars.
For the inside surfaces of your front teeth, tilt your brush vertically and brush with up-and-down strokes.
Don't brush too hard! Plaque only needs to be brushed gently to be removed, and too much force can hurt your enamel.

Some other important factors:

Be sure to use a brush with soft bristles. Hard bristles can wear down your tooth enamel, causing it two weaken.
You should replace your toothbrush every 3 to 4 months.
Use a toothpaste with fluoride.

Here's a video from the American Dental Association to show you how it's done.

Caring for Your Toothbrush

Brushing and flossing properly is crucial to good oral health, but caring for your toothbrush is something that often goes overlooked, even though it’s important as well. If your toothbrush is not properly taken care of it can spread more germs into your mouth and not clean your teeth properly. For proper toothbrush care, be sure to keep the following in mind:

Rinse off the toothbrush

After you brush your teeth, make sure you rinse off your toothbrush completely with water. You should also allow it to air-dry. If you store your toothbrush in a container, the moisture can create an environment that allows microorganisms to grow.

Do not share your toothbrush

Sharing a toothbrush can lead to an increased risk of infection.

Replace your toothbrush

It is recommended that you replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months. The bristles become worn and less effective over time.

What Kind of Toothbrush Should I Use?

There are a lot of choices out there when it comes to toothbrushes, but the big question may come down to whether you should use an electric or a traditional toothbrush.

The short answer is that either type, when used with proper technique for the appropriate amount of time, can effectively clean your teeth. However, electric toothbrushes tend to make doing it properly a lot easier.

So, the real divider is ease.

With a manual brush, diligence is key. It is recommended that in order to maintain a healthy smile, brushing your teeth for two minutes twice a day is key. Regular toothbrushes have the benefits of being inexpensive, travel-friendly, and don’t require batteries or to be charged before use.

Electric toothbrushes have gained popularity for their ability to do all of the work for the user. With the option of different style brush heads and modes, like whitening, sensitivity, and deep cleaning, it makes a thorough teeth cleaning simple. Some electric options are even equipped to time how long the user is spending brushing one area and alerts the user to move to a different quadrant through vibrations.

Additionally, electronic toothbrushes are ideal for those for whom brushing can be troublesome. For people with issues such as coordination problems, arthritis, orthodontic brackets, or gum disease, electric toothbrushes can make it easier for them to reach every area of their teeth. Children can benefit from electric toothbrushes as well, as kids find them more interesting and they help do some of the brushing for them.

The ADA suggests that the real deciding factor is the person doing the brushing (and how they brush) more than the toothbrush itself. https://youtu.be/wgaY27LLw-s. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but for most people, an electric toothbrush can help make cleaning your teeth a little bit easier.

Flossing

How Do I Floss Properly?

You should be sure to floss once a day in order to prevent cavities in places where your toothbrush can't reach and to ward off gum disease.

To floss properly:

Use a piece of floss that's about 18" long. Wind most of the floss around one of your middle fingers and the remaining floss around the same finger on the opposite hand.
When flossing, you will be gradually unwinding clean floss from the one finger, while wrapping the dirty floss around the finger of the other hand.
Tightly hold the floss between your forefingers and thumbs.
Use a gentle rubbing motion to guide the floss between your teeth. Be sure not to use too much force or to snap the floss into your gums.
When the floss reaches the gumline, wrap it into a "C" shape around one tooth and slide it gently into the space between the gum and tooth.
While holding the floss tightly against the side of the tooth, move the floss away from your gums with an up-and-down motion.
Complete this process until you have rubbed the floss along the side of each of your teeth.
Don't forget to floss the back of your last molar!

The American Dental Association has a video to help show you this process.

Why Is It Important to Floss?

Most people will brush their teeth, but many are reluctant to floss as instructed. Some feel that brushing alone is sufficient, while others were influenced by a 2016 news article citing the lack of studies done on the effectiveness of flossing.