You would think brushing your teeth and flossing was an easy task! There are, however, certain techniques to ensure the most thorough home care cleaning possible. Below are some brushing and flossing techniques for those hard to reach places.
BRUSHING
1. OUTSIDE OF FRONT TEETH– Hold your tooth brush at a 45 angle and place it where your teeth and gums meet. Move the brush back and forth in a gentle scrubbing motion to remove plaque from the outer surfaces of the front teeth, upper and lower.
2. OUTSIDE OF BACK TEETH– Continue brushing with short, angled strokes to remove plaque from the outer surfaces of the back teeth, upper and lower.
3. INSIDE OF BACK TEETH– Keep brushing with short, angled strokes to remove plaque from the inner surfaces of the back teeth, upper and lower.
4.INSIDE OF FRONT TEETH– Tilt the brush vertically and make up-and-down strokes to remove plaque from the inner surfaces of the front teeth, upper and lower.
5. CHEWING SURFACES– Hold the brush flat and use a scrubbing motion to remove plaque from the chewing surfaces of all teeth, upper and lower.
FLOSSING
1. SETTING UP– Pull about 18 inches of floss from the dispenser and wrap the ends around your middle fingers.
2. INSERTING FLOSS– Hold floss tightly, using your fingers to gently guide the floss between the teeth. Work floss through the contact point, moving it gently under the gum line. Be careful not to snap the floss between teeth and under the gums, as this can harm the delicate tissue.
3. REMOVING PLAQUE– Holding the floss tightly against the tooth, move the floss away from the gum, scraping the floss up and down against the side of the tooth.
4. CLEANING THE WHOLE MOUTH– Repeat flossing procedure on each tooth, upper and lower, using a clean segment of floss.
5. FLOSSING BACK TEETH– Don’t forget to floss behind back teeth or where there is no adjacent tooth.