Brushing is important way to keep your teeth and gums clean, healthy and free from oral disease.
The direct benefit of brushing is to remove oral plaque, and prevent it from reforming on your teeth and along the gum line. Plaque is the main cause of tooth decay, cavities and gum disease, so it’s important to brush thoroughly twice daily. Plaque removal is so essential that not brushing your teeth for several days is usually enough time for the onset of more serious oral conditions.
Brush your teeth twice daily – EVERYDAY!
One of the main messages from ADA’s dental health Week 2019, is to brush twice each day – a habit that about 50% of Australians skip to some degree. So do yourself a favour and check out some pro tips from the ADA on the following videos. We’ve also transcribed the same pro tips in the lists below:
Pro tips for better brushing from the ADA
- Use a small soft brush – hard ones can damage teeth and gums.
- Use just one pea-sized blob of fluoridated toothpaste.
- For timing (and for fun!), listen to music and brush for the duration of a short song you like.
- Tilt your brush at a 45˚ angle so the bristles are cleaning your gums too.
- Brush gently in circles – Or if you have an electric toothbrush, just hold still at each tooth for 3 seconds.
- Count all segments as you go – 1) Upper inside, outside and chewing surface; 2) Lower inside, outside and chewing surface.
- Don’t miss your inside front teeth. Brush up and down to reach these properly.
- Finish by cleaning your tongue thus removing any remaining bacteria from your mouth with a tongue cleaner or scrapper.
- Avoid rinsing so your toothpaste can keep working for longer.
- Now do it all again! Brush twice each day & floss at least once. Do this every single day.
- Visit your dentist regularly to prevent problems and keep on smiling!
ADA Tooth Brushing Tips Video
