Tips & Tricks While Brushing Your Teeth

As your source of North Knoxville Orthodontics, we at Myer’s Orthodontics understand that every beautiful smile starts with proper brushing techniques. As a staple of good oral hygiene, brushing your teeth sounds a lot simpler than it actually is. Sometimes you miss important spots, you aren’t putting enough time into it, or you aren’t using the right toothbrush.

At Myer’s Orthodontics, we are dedicated in bringing the best oral care possible to our patients. However, if our patients aren’t brushing their teeth and keeping good oral hygiene, it will be very difficult for any orthodontist to fix the problems that come from simply neglecting your teeth’s cleanliness.

Best Technique For Brushing Your Teeth

Proper brushing takes at least two minutes. Most adults do not come close to brushing that long. To get a feel for the time involved, try using a stopwatch. To properly brush your teeth, use short, gentle strokes, paying extra attention to the gumline, hard-to-reach back teeth and areas around fillings, crowns or other restoration. Concentrate on thoroughly cleaning each section as follows:

• Clean the outer surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
• Clean the inner surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
• Clean the chewing surfaces
• For fresher breath, be sure to brush your tongue, too

Common Mistakes While Brushing Your Teeth

Because brushing your teeth is an everyday activity, many people forget the basics on how to keep your teeth nice and healthy. However, brushing is simply not enough. There are certain pitfalls and mistakes that many people make that can make your everyday brushing efforts nonexistent. Here are a couple of the most common mistakes while brushing your teeth:

• Picking the wrong toothbrush
• Brushing your teeth too aggressively
• Using the same toothbrush for too long
• Don’t forget the gum line

Contact Your Knoxville Orthodontist

We hope this makes it easier to have a standard procedure when brushing your teeth, but if you have more questions, we're always here to answer them. Give us a call at (865) 687-6560 if you have more questions on eating with braces, and don't hesitate to schedule an appointment online if you want to come in for a checkup or consultation. We look forward to hearing from you, and we wish you luck in maintaining a healthy smile!