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Common Tooth Brushing Mistakes

Common Tooth Brushing Mistakes

Orthodontist

Tooth brushing Mistake No.6: “Starting in the Same Place Each Time”

We are all creatures of habit at some time or another. Holding our toothbrushes in the same hand day in day out is no exception. Many of us will use our brush with the very same routine every day, sidling it from one side of our mouth to another. Unless we are pro-active teeth cleaners, we will most likely spend a lot more time on the first minute of the teeth cleaning exercise than the last minute, meaning that the place we start this daily routine in will most likely get more attention than anywhere else in the mouth. This is a dangerous practice to get into. It’s like the pesky mosquito which always knows which part of your flesh you expose on a hot sultry night and makes a beeline for it to get its daily feed.

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Toothbrushing Mistake No. 5

Toothbrushing Mistake No. 5

Orthodontics

Tooth brushing Mistake No.5: “Not Brushing Correctly”

Did you ever think there was a better way to brush your teeth? Do you just whisk around your mouth and teeth with a toothbrush with a dab of fluoridated toothpaste on it? There is more to teeth brushing than that. For a start, you should position your toothbrush at a 45o angle to your gum line and then brush your teeth in a diagonal motion – not just up and down – as this does little to remove all that damaging plaque and clinging bacteria. You should also ensure that you manipulate your toothbrush onto the inner sides of your upper and lower teeth as well as the easy to reach front lower and upper teeth.

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Toothbrushing Mistake No. 3

Toothbrushing Mistake No. 3

Orthodontics

Tooth brushing Mistake No.3: “Not Brushing Often Enough or Long Enough”

How many of us take teeth brushing so seriously that we count the minutes or seconds every time we go through the routine. I wouldn’t think that too many of us have a stopwatch at hand for that purpose. Maybe we should. The American Dental Association firmly advises the American public to adhere to the 120 second rule every time one of us dabs our toothbrush with toothpaste. It is not simply the seconds we count throughout our daily brush but the number of times a day the stopwatch is set matters too. Twice daily is the expected frequency these days although some over exuberant people might even get around to three times daily.

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