Brushing your teeth the right way is essential for preventing tooth decay, gum disease, and maintaining fresh breath. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush, ADA-approved fluoride toothpaste, and brush twice daily for at least 2 minutes. Clean all surfaces of your teeth at a 45° angle and don’t forget your tongue. Floss daily to remove plaque and food debris between teeth, and replace your toothbrush every 3–4 months. Electric toothbrushes and traditional methods like neem sticks can also be effective. Consistent oral hygiene ensures a healthy smile for life.
You don’t have to brush all your teeth—just the ones you want to keep.
Dr. Howard R. Gamble
Brushing your teeth will assist in staving off conditions such as gingivitis and tooth decay. You could be causing tooth abrasion or even gum damage if you do not brush correctly with a soft-bristled brush. Brush your teeth properly by following these procedures.
In addition to brushing, you should use floss or another approved interdental cleaner of your teeth once a day. Flossing often overlooks; yet, it is a significant piece in oral health. It may be uncomfortable at first, especially if you have not been flossing consistently, but try to include it into your daily practice. A toothbrush cannot reach the tiny crevices spaces between your teeth, but dental floss can. You will notice a difference in the way your mouth feels if you make flossing a habit.
The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth with ADA-accepted fluoride toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush twice each day. Every day, you should clean between your teeth (such as by flossing).
What You Need To Brush Your Teeth
Making ensuring you have the necessary tools is the first step in brushing correctly. You will need the following items:
According to the American Dental Association, fluoride toothpaste is the best choice for adults, not for children.
- A toothbrush
- Fluoride toothpaste
- Floss
- Mouthwash (optional)
The toothbrush must replace every 3 to 4 months. Overuse of your toothbrush can cause the bristles to fray, reducing the effectiveness of brushing.
Although fluoride fortifies your teeth against decay, fluoride toothpaste does not recommend for very young children. The ADA, on the other hand, continues to suggest that:
- Use a smear of fluoride toothpaste about the size of a rice grain for children under the age of three who have their first teeth.
- For three to six years children, use a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste.
If you are concerned about your child ingesting the toothpaste, there is fluoride-free toothpaste available.
Brush Your Teeth Properly, Step by Step
With a standard plastic-handled and nylon-bristled toothbrush, the easy method to brush your teeth. It takes about 2 minutes to complete the whole process.
- Step 1: Tilt your brush at a 45° angle. Begin by brushing your teeth with the toothbrush tilted against your teeth. Move the brush in short circular strokes with the bristles at a 45-degree angle to the gum line.
- Step 2: Brush the outer surfaces of your teeth. a few times on each tooth. Next, gently brush the outer surfaces of each tooth, keeping the bristles angled against the gum line.
- Step 3: Brush the inner surface of your teeth. Do the same thing for the inside surfaces of all the teeth.
- Step 4: Clean the chewing surfaces of your teeth. Now brush the biting surfaces of the teeth on the top and the bottom. To clean the inside surface of the front teeth, tilt the brush vertically for the upper teeth, gently move the brush longways down the tooth from the gum for a few seconds. Tilt the brush vertically and slowly drag the toothbrush upwards from the gum for a few seconds for the lower teeth.
- Step 5: Brush your tongue. Brush your tongue to eradicate odor-causing bacteria for better breath.
- Step 6: Rinse the mouth with water. Spit out any remaining toothpaste and finish by rinsing your mouth with cold water.
How To Use An Electric Toothbrush
You are already aware of gum disease or decay, so brush your teeth correctly. One of the ways that you can help yourself is by getting an electric toothbrush– efficient at brushing your teeth more than a manual toothbrush. It has a lot of movements in the brush head that is why an electric toothbrush takes a lot of pressure away from you. It can be more efficient because it has pressure sensors, timers, and pacers to help you brush your teeth correctly. For example, you can break your mouth down into quadrants and, you do each quadrant for 30 seconds, building up to four quadrants for two minutes.
An electric toothbrush has a small, circular head. You can see that it has a circular oscillating, rotating movement like so. It means that most of the moves you need to do are actually within the toothbrush head when we come to brush the teeth.
Just place the toothbrush bristles at a 45-degree angle to the tooth and hold it next to the tooth. It will then take care of everything for you.
Brush each tooth for about three seconds while keeping the toothbrush head-on. Then, move forward to keep your toothbrush head at the same angle. Do the outsides of the teeth. Remember, you do not need to put this in a circular motion. The head of brush will do it all for you. On the outsides of the teeth, and then you do the bite surfaces of the teeth. And then you do the inside surfaces of the teeth. Remember to make sure it is still at a 45-degree angle.
It goes into those gum margins, each tooth three seconds to the front and, that is one, quadrant done. One quadrant should take you 30 seconds. You need to do all four quadrants, totaling up to two minutes. Replace your toothbrush heads every three months or sooner if you find that it is worn. You can tell by looking at it. If you find that, the bristles are misshapen or starting to flare.
How To Brush Your Teeth With Braces
It takes a few extra steps other them brushing your teeth with braces is quite simple.
- Take a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on your toothbrush before that moistening the toothbrush with water.
- Clean your braces thoroughly, including under the wires and pins.
- To remove any food particles from the actual wires of your braces, brush them carefully.
- Brush your teeth, as usual, moving from one side of your mouth to the other and brushing for at least two minutes.
- Brush your tongue gently.
- Rinse your mouth with water and inspect your braces in the mirror to make sure they are clean.
How To Brush Your Teeth With A Neem Stick
You can use a neem stick instead of your toothbrush. It is an ancient method to brush teeth.
- First, you peel off the balk and, it starts to look something like this. pic
- Then you go ahead, put it into your mouth, and chew the end a little. When you start chewing on the end of the neem stick, it opens up like a fan. It starts to work as a toothbrush would.
You need to pick a stick or a little stem off neem which should be about the size of your little finger. It is just an approximation.
- Chew on it turn it into a brush. Use strokes that go from the bottom of your teeth to the top of your teeth. You brush your lower teeth first and then your upper teeth.
- When you are done with brushing, it leaves your mouth with a slightly bitter taste because neem is bitter. As per Ayurveda, the things that you use to clean your mouth are not supposed to be sweet.
- Then take any Dant Manjan–a mix of spices like cardamom, clove, lychee, long. It is a blend of all of these spices plus Treefella that is beneficial for teeth.
- Take a little bit of this powder and moist finger dip in the powder and gently massage the gums with your finger.
Final Thought
Brushing your teeth may take on different forms at different points in your life. But one thing is certain: there are no circumstances in which cleaning your teeth should be avoided or skipped.
Brushing your teeth twice a day for at least 2 minutes each time is the cornerstone of good dental health and a long-lasting smile.
