Oral Hygiene

Maintaining good oral hygiene is one of the most important things you can do for your teeth and gums. Healthy teeth not only enable you to look and feel good but are important in achieving and maintaining overall well-being and vitality.

Oral hygiene is a crucial element of any dental treatment plan. In order to maintain a beautiful smile, you must look after your teeth and gums on a regular basis. Only through brushing and flossing, regular visits to your dentist and taking care of any appliances you may be wearing, will your oral hygiene remain in good shape.

The team at the dental practice in Bathurst believe in preventing the issue before it becomes a more serious problem to treat and that is why we recommend you follow some of the simple guidelines to keep you smiling and also keep your teeth for life!

Basic Brushing Tips

Brush thoroughly with a recommended toothpaste every day. We recommend the following method to help maintain your dental health and remove plaque:

• Move the brush back and forth in short, semi-circle strokes several times.
• Brush the outer surfaces of each tooth, top and bottom, keeping the bristles angled against your gum.
• Use the same method on the inside surfaces of all the teeth, still using short back and forth strokes.
• Clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth by tilting the brush vertically and make several gentle up and down strokes with the front part of the brush.
• You should not forget your tongue, brushing it will help freshen your breath and clean your mouth by removing bacteria.

Basic Flossing Tips

An essential part of your routine, flossing removes plaque from between the teeth, areas where gum disease can begin. Tips to remember:

• Wind roughly 20cm of floss around middle fingers of each hand. Hold each end of the floss between your thumbs and index fingers, leaving about 2cm to 3cm of length in between. You should use your thumbs to direct the floss between your upper teeth.
• Keeping the length of floss nice and firm between fingers, use index fingers to direct the floss between the lower teeth.
• Gently guide the floss between the teeth by using a zigzag motion. Use a smooth and flowing motion around each side of the tooth.