Common Toothbrushing Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Tooth brushing and flossing are one-half of a two-prong preventative dental care. The other half is routine visits to the dentist. Toothbar’s Dental Spa provides Austin preventive dentistry as well as other dental care protocols.

Components of Preventive Dental Care

Good oral hygiene is an essential part of preventative dental care. You want to prevent dental problems before they develop. The two main elements of preventative dental care are

• Diligent home oral hygiene, and
• Regular dental checkups.

Diligent home care has three important elements:

• Proper teeth brushing.
• Flossing.
• Avoid bad habits like smoking, too many sweets, and too much acidic alcohol.

Consequences of Poor Oral Hygiene

Very few people enjoy going to the dentist. Too many neglect oral health at home. But poor oral hygiene can lead to serious collateral health problems.

There are good bacteria and bad bacteria. Poor oral hygiene produces bad bacteria which can be spread to other parts of your body. Your teeth are nourished by blood vessels attached to the roots of your teeth.

Medical science has shown that tooth decay and consequent infection can cause infection to invade blood vessels and travel in the bloodstream to various organs. Some of the collateral infections are:

• Endocarditis. This infection inflames the lining of your heart.
• Cardiovascular disease. Some research shows that oral bacteria can cause inflammation and infections causing heart disease.
• Pregnancy complications. Periodontitis, infection of gums, has been linked to low birth weight and premature birth.
• Pneumonia. Some mouth bacteria can be ingested into your lungs which can cause pneumonia.

Some Statistics About Oral Health

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the following statistics about oral health in the United States.
• More the 25 percent of adults in the nation have untreated tooth decay.
• Low-income, less educated, and smoking adults are twice as likely to have untreated cavities as other populations.
• Almost half of adults above the age of 30 suffer from gum disease.
• Oral cancer is most common among older adults particularly smokers and heavy drinkers.

Proper Brushing Routine

People often use improper brushing teeth mistakes including:

• Brushing too hard
• Using a toothbrush with too hard bristles
• Failure to change toothbrush when worn
• Using non-fluoride or other improper toothpaste.
• Insufficient brushing time.
• Failure to vary your brushing pattern.

The following are proper brushing habits:

• Use fluoride toothpaste.
• Angle the bristles to clean the line between gums and teeth.
• Use gentle brushing strokes with small, circular motions.
• Do not brush with hard back and forth strokes
• Brush both the front and back of each tooth.
• Brush your tongue to improve your breath and remove bacteria.

Why Should You Use Fluoride Toothpaste?

Bacteria on your teeth produce acid that erodes enamel. Fluoride has long been recognized as a source of strengthening your tooth enamel. Strong enamel is more resistant to decay.

Children in particular need the protection of fluoride when their teeth are developing. Fluoride-assisted teeth have shallower grooves making the removal of plaque more effective.

Fluoride addition to our drinking water has been almost universal in the United States for more than 60 years. It has proven to be effective to reduce decay by almost 60 percent. Fluoride toothpaste promotes such decay prevention.
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Importance of Flossing

Proper brushing is only half of your responsibility for your oral health. Cleaning between your teeth is equally important. Flossing is the best way to do that.

Plaque is formed on your teeth by the accumulation of bacteria. If it is not removed it can harden below the gum line and cause gingivitis (a gum disease) or a more severe periodontal disease.

Eventually, plaque, if not removed, hardens as tartar. Professional cleaning by a dentist or dental hygienist is the only way to remove tartar.

You don’t want to let plaque convert to tartar. Therefore, you should floss twice daily to remove plaque.

Conclusion

Vigilant maintenance of your oral health is important for your total health and well-being. You have the foremost responsibility for your oral health. That requires proper teeth brushing at least twice daily.

Our professionals at Toothbar’s dental spa offer expert Austin preventative dentistry in Austin, Texas. We provide compassionate painless dental care as preventative measures as well as a variety of corrective procedures. Call: 512-949-8202