How often should I brush my teeth?
- Twice a day, morning and night is recommended. (If you could remove every bit of bacteria, food and debris once a day would be enough. The colonies of bacteria causing dental cavities or decay and gum disease begin to regroup right after you brush.)
- Brush after eating foods that stick to your teeth.
- Dry mouth or decreased saliva cause food to adhere to the teeth. Brush more often.
- When you need to brush but cannot, rinse your mouth thoroughly with water.
- Brush well, take your time (most patients brush only 37 seconds while brushing should last at least two minutes).
- Use a strategic approach. Brush the areas toward your face, the areas toward your tongue and areas where you bite and chew.
- Use an electric toothbrush with a timer that pauses every 30 seconds. (You’d be surprised how many dental professionals use electric toothbrushes.)
- Patients at the office of Jon Frankel have found the Philips Sonicare Flexcare and the Flexcare for Kids have improved their oral health significantly.
- Brushing is not enough. The only way to clean between your teeth is flossing.
- Floss at least once a day.
- Allow the floss to go in-between the tooth and the gum tissue. Pull the floss tight against the tooth.
- Dr. Frankel’s Dental Hygienist with 42 years of experience, Karen Kearns, suggests scraping the floss “up to your nose and down to your toes” while pulling the floss directly against the tooth making it into the shape of a letter “c” or “u”.
- Use a tongue scraper. The Breath RX tongue scraper is inexpensive, dishwasher- proof and easy to use.
