How Not to Brush Your Teeth

HOW Net TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH There's a right way and a wrong way to brush your teeth, according to Cynthia Eubanks, who leads the dental assistant program at Everest College – North Aurora. Eubanks offers the most common mistakes people make when brushing their teeth. How many are YOU guilty of? BRUSHING ONLY ONCE A DAY 24 HOURS In just 24 hours, millions of bacteria can grow in your mouth, and significant amounts of plaque can form on your teeth. To prevent this, most dentists recommend brushing after every meal. x2V At a minimum, you should brush your teeth after breakfast and then before bedtime. BRUSHING TOO OFTEN 12 12 12 12 6 If brushing three times a day is good, then four or five times must be better, right? Wrong. Too much brushing can wear away tooth enamel and irritate gums, which can lead to infection and inflammation. BRUSHING TEETH AT A 90-DEGREE ANGLE 90° For adults,most dental problems don't start on the tooth surface, but at the gum line. For optimum 45 results, tilt your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and brush close to the gums. BRUSHING IN A STRAIGHT LINE Brushing teeth should not be like sawing wood. Over time, brushing in a straight back-and-forth motion can wear ridges in your tooth enamel, making teet rough and dull. Instead, brush in a circular motion. BRUSHING TOO ROUGHLY IRRITATE GUMS DA MAGING ENAMEL Again, a toothbrush shouldn't be used like sandpaper. Be gentle. Being too rough with your toothbrush can damage tooth enamel and irritate your gums. USING A STIFF-BRISTLED BRUSH Again, for you "rougher-is-better" types, using a stiff-bristled brush is likely to cause more harm than good. Using a soft-bristled toothbrush will remove the same amount of debris while causing less trauma to your teeth and gums. FLOSSING AFTER BRUSHING Flossing is necessary to remove particles brushes miss. But if you're flossing after brushing, you're only realizing part of its benefits. Flossing before brushing exposes areas that can benefit from the fluoride in your toothpaste, which over time can improve your oral health. Brought to you by the Everest family of colleges, universities and institutes. We graduate and place more dental assistants than any other institution in North America. For more information about our program visit http://dentalassistant.everestcollege.edu Everest For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program and other important information visit http://ehw.me BY NC ND