When you go to brush your teeth (something that should happen at least twice a day), how much time do you spend? You should spend at least two minutes on brushing your teeth. This is to ensure that you are adequately cleaning them, as well as to ensure that you are covering them completely. At-home oral care is a foundation of good general oral health care. When you do not effectively clean your teeth, or are inconsistent with how – or how often – you brush, you can increase your cavity risk.
Along with brushing your teeth, you should floss at least once a day. Flossing helps prevent gum disease from developing, and it also helps to take care of areas between teeth you might inadequately access with a toothbrush alone. You should make sure to floss with an upward-downward motion, and not simply swipe the string back and forth.
A robust approach to keeping your oral health in the best possible shape involves at-home care with brushing and flossing, and regular dental checkups. Your hygienist has the tools, and the skills, to give you a superior teeth cleaning. Part of what professional cleaning entails is removing tartar from your teeth. Your dentist will also help protect you by studying your teeth for any problems that might be forming. If this inspection leads to the detection of a cavity, your dentist can put a stop to the decay before it has the chance to spread further, and damage more of your tooth. If it is caught in time, you should only need a filling to restore your tooth.