Proper home dental care involves four main areas to maintain the best oral health possible.
Brushing
People should brush their teeth at least twice a day, preferably three times a day, or after every meal for the best dental health. They should use a soft to medium textured toothbrush and an anticavity, fluoride containing toothpaste for best results. They should brush vertically in up and down strokes and make sure to brush at the gum lines and around the backs and sides of all teeth. If a person has dentures, they should be soaked in a cleansing tablet solution instead of being brushed to prevent teeny crevices from forming due to abrasive brushing since dentures are softer than natural teeth.
Flossing
Flossing should be done at least once a day. A person can use either the long, skinny strips of floss or the small, individual floss picks. He should move the floss up and down and sideways to fully clean the insides of the teeth area that the toothbrush can’t reach. Flossing is also good to activate circulation in the gum tissue as well. If a person bleeds when they floss, they should see either a dentist or a periodontist immediately to see what’s causing the bleeding problem. People should feel confident in contacting their dental office if they require more information about how to properly care for their teeth.
Tongue Scrapping
The back sides of many toothbrushes or floss sticks have tongue scrapers. They can also be purchased individually as separate dental tools. Bacteria and germs form on the tongue and brushing and flossing alone is not enough to remove all of this bacteria, so the tongue needs to be scraped from back to front on a daily basis. The tongue scraper should be rinsed under hot water after use or even disinfected by using a high quality mouthwash. It’s important to also use a mouthwash every day as well to maintain excellent dental health.
Diet
The consumption of the right foods are also essential in proper home dental care. Hard, nutritious foods such as carrots and apples should be eaten on a regular basis to strengthen the teeth and exercise the gums. Crunchy breadsticks can also be helpful for the same reason. But people need to make sure to at least rinse their mouth with water after eating any type of food to cleanse it of the residual sugar, if they can’t brush right away.