Maintaining Oral Hygiene

Properly cleaning your teeth and gums at home is one of the most important factors in maintaining long term dental health.

Start by:

Brushing twice daily using an electric tooth brush, minimum for two minutes. Reach all surfaces. Use a fluoridated tooth paste.

Video for manual toothbrushing.

Flossing once daily using conventional string floss or Floss picks. Flossing should be done in a “C-shaped” manner, hugging the sides of each tooth rather rather than straight up and down.

Video

Utilize a Waterpik for areas between teeth that regularly trap food. The water pressure can be effective in flushing our larger debris to reduce gum inflammation. Particularly helpful for patients with dental implants, bridges, or orthodontic appliances (braces, retainers). It is a useful addition to the oral hygiene routine, but should not replace flossing.

Oil pulling is an increasingly popular activity where one swishes natural oils (eg. coconut) has insufficient evidence