Best Dental Tips – Our Tooth Fairy Approved Tips

My Dentists reminds me that the most important part of tooth care does not happen in his office but at home.  Best ways to avoid the "drill" is proper brushing and flossing coupled with regular dental checkups.  Yesterday was our bi-annual migration to the dentists I am happy to report everyone was cavity free and they actually brushing properly.  To help you get the thumbs up from the tooth fairy we have tips after the jump that are sure to work.

Tips on Brushing

Brush your teeth for two minutes -- My son doesn't like the "electronic" tooth brush that will quite brushing when the 3 minutes has passed so I have his "tooth brushing playlist" which is a total of three minutes -- he brushes til the music stops.

Hold your tooth brush at a 45 degree angle to your teeth -- Start at the gum line and "sweep/brush" food away from the gum line.  Yep your dentist isn't just trying to bore you -- use a circular motion when brushing the inside and outside of your teeth.  I am not sure why -- but my son has it in his head that he does not need to brush the chewing surface of his teeth.

Harder Brushing = Better Brushing

This is not true -- brushing hard actually is harmful to your oral heath. Problems caused by using a tooth brush that is too hard coupled with hard brushing are: receding gums, tooth sensitivity, and, over time, loose teeth.

Brush Twice A Day (minimum)
Our lives get busy and we tend to lower the priority of those two minutes it takes to brush your teeth twice a day.

Taking this short cut can lead to cavities -- even tooth extraction.  Did you know that plaque on your teeth is the same plaque in your blood stream?

Studies show that the less plaque we have on our teeth the healthy our heart is -- do yourself and your kids a favor take care of your teeth.

How To Brush Your Teeth Properly Video

Floss Your Teeth

Floss is your friend -- I promise!

Trying not to lecture here but when you don't floss you leave behind about 55% of your plaque.  Plaque is bad (say it with me "Plaque is BAD").  Flossing sweeps away plaque and removes food particles -- when left they expedite tooth decay.

I am not the Flossing Nazi but I do recommend flossing every time you brush your teeth.  My son who is ten tries to get out of it -- but he is pretty easy to wrangle down -- he is to the point in his life where he would rather have his hands in his mouth rather than mine.

How To Floss Properly Video

Proper Eating = Healthy Teeth

There is such a vast array of sugary sweet -- mind blowing -- yummy food for us to choose from.  Making healthy choices is not only good for your waist line but great for your gum line.

For most people, it's hard to cut out sweets completely or brush after every meal -- so try to follow these more realistic guidelines:

1 - Eat carbohydrates (sugars and starches) with a meal.

2 - If you can't brush your teeth after eating, rinse your mouth with water or mouthwash, or chew sugarless gum.

3 - Don't eat sugary foods between meals. (That includes drinking pop)

4 - If you snack, eat non sugary foods, such as cheese, popcorn, raw veggies, or yogurt.

This post was brought to you by Kay Care Family Dental.