A Basic Guide to Oral Hygiene

Oral hygiene is important to help prevent cavities and promote overall health. For these reasons alone, it is essential to have a good hygiene regimen. Today, I would like to share with you a basic guide to implementing your own oral hygiene routine.

A famous dentist once said, “every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond.”. What he meant by this is that brushing is more than just some mundane activity. Brushing is about protecting the inner resources of the mouth from dangerous bacteria. Bacteria that can multiply and leave corrosive acid as a by-product.

The first step you will want to take in achieving supreme oral hygiene is to prepare. This usually involves a trip to the store, however, you may find that you already have many of these items. If you do not have them already, it is wise to obtain a toothbrush with soft bristles, quality toothpaste, waxed dental floss, and mouthwash. These are some of the most vital and basic tools that you should have in your oral hygiene toolkit.

After preparing, you can now start in flossing. This will gently remove plaque from in between teeth in areas that a toothbrush cannot reach. Make sure to get between every tooth and behind your far back ones. After you floss, the plague will dislodge and move away from the crevices between teeth. This then allows it to be easily removed after brushing and rinsing. Flossing is a step that a lot of people tend to skip. Simply keeping it in your routine can be a game-changer.

Now the next step to supreme oral health is to brush. Start at the back molars and move towards the front. It is very common for some people to start at the front and completely forget about the back molars. The average person has thirty-two teeth. If you do not know how many teeth you have, it is highly recommended that you count just so you will know. This will raise dental awareness and help to motivate you to brush each tooth every day. Also, as mentioned, every tooth you do have is worth its weight in gold.

Once you have brushed your teeth you should then move on to your tongue and gums. Ever wonder what the white stuff fuzzy stuff on your tongue is? This is a build-up of plaque that instead of being on teeth, is on the tongue. The tongue is a breeding ground for many plaque organisms to thrive on. For this reason, it is of utmost importance that you brush the tongue. After brushing the tongue, you should move on to your gums to remove any plaque there as well. Afterwards, you should even then massage your gums with the toothbrush. This helps to promote gum health by stimulating blood flow.

Finally, you should rinse. The purpose of rinsing is to remove all the debris left behind from flossing and brushing. It is recommended that you rinse two to three times to make sure you get everything out. Water will work just fine for rinsing, though if you opt for a mouthwash that can be even better as it can kill any remaining microorganisms. When deciding on toothpaste, choose high quality over low-cost generics. The same can be said with toothbrushes. Consider choosing a toothbrush one with soft bristles as hard bristles can sometimes scratch teeth on a microscopic level.

After you have finished with these steps; preparing, flossing, brushing and rinsing. You should now be able to feel your teeth as being smooth and very clean. Also, after brushing the tongue you may even be able to taste foods better! With so many sugars and refined carbs in today's food, it is near impossible to avoid plaque. The best way to combat plaque is to implement a thorough oral hygiene routine that will work efficiently at removing this plaque from the mouth.

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