The best way to avoid dental procedures is through good oral hygiene, and there are various ways that our Long Island area patients can ensure the health and longevity of their natural teeth. At Shine, we not only want to provide you with the professional help you need to ensure your smile is a healthy one, but we want to educate our patients on prolonged at-home dental care so they can keep the smile that they want for many years to come! While the need for brushing and flossing is typically considered common knowledge, many people may not realize that they could be doing a better job, and that is where we at Shine are here to help!
When you brush, it’s important not to remember that you can actually damage your teeth by brushing incorrectly. If you’re using a toothbrush that is old, and the bristles have become stiff, even the lightest brushing can cause scratching in the natural enamel of your teeth, and damaged enamel is a big contributor to tooth decay or weakness. At Shine, we recommend changing out your toothbrush for a brand new one at least once every 2 or 3 months, and this is done to ensure your brush remains soft enough to keep your enamel strong and healthy.
Even the softest bristled toothbrushes can be used too harshly, and we also suggest that our Long Island area patients pay close attention to just how hard they may be brushing. Brushing extra hard doesn’t mean you’re keeping your teeth extra clean, and the pressure you put your teeth under can lead to damaging enamel erosion. Brushing softly with an extra-soft bristled toothbrush is ideal, and you’ll find your teeth actually feel cleaner when you give them a bit of a break from the pressure.
With flossing, this is where things can start to get tricky, as many people don’t realize that they’re not flossing the correct way. Rather than putting a piece of floss between teeth and simply focusing on that area with a back and forth motion, it’s better to focus on the surface of the tooth as well as the spaces between to ensure all plaque and food particles are removed. For strong natural teeth, it’s also recommended that you “pop” your floss to dislodge difficult particles, and this can be done by holding the floss close to the surface of the tooth and pulling downward rather than with a back and forth motion.
Good oral hygiene is important to good oral health, and we at Shine want to make sure our patients know all of the best ways to care for their teeth!
