A decent brush and some techniques can significantly improve your smile and general dental health. 

Getting your teeth cleaned professionally feels like a dental health reset. Your teeth get scrubbed, scraped, and polished to perfection, and whether they stay that way is up to you. Take a look at these three suggestions to up your tooth-brushing game and enhance your health at the same time. 

1. Understanding the danger.

Bits of food or leftover liquid might stick to your teeth and gums whenever you eat or drink something. The debris and its bacteria turn into a sticky film called plaque. It calcifies if it is left on the teeth for too long. The hardened plaque is called calculus and can’t be removed with a toothbrush. 

Inside the calculus are bacteria that release acids that cause cavities, break down your enamel, and tunnel inside the tooth toward the nerve and jaw bone, causing infection if left untreated. Bacteria may then proceed to the brain, heart, or lungs, among other areas of your body. 

Plaque-related bacteria can also irritate and infect the gums, which damages gum tissue, ligaments holding the teeth in place, and the jaw bone — resulting in tooth loss. 

Knowing all that, it may not surprise that poor dental health is associated with health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and pneumonia. 

2. Choose a quality toothbrush. 

Many toothbrush alternatives are available, from basic plastic sticks with bristles to high-tech devices with bristles that spin or vibrate. But it’s not the toothbrush that matters; it’s the technique. You might have a brush that does all the work for you. But if you don’t have an excellent brushing technique, you’ll miss plaque, even with an electric toothbrush. 

So beware of fancy marketing promises that suggest one toothbrush is better than another. 

Instead, we recommend the following: 

• Get a toothbrush you like and will use regularly.

• Choose bristles based on your gum health. If your gums are sensitive, you’ll need soft bristles that don’t irritate. If you don’t have gum problems, it’s ok to use hard bristles.

• Replace your toothbrush every few months. It’s time for a new brush if the bristles are splayed out and no longer upright or your teeth don’t feel clean after you brush.

3. Use the proper brushing technique. 

Regardless of the type of toothbrush you use, we advise utilising this technique to brush twice daily and to floss either before or after each session: 

• For two minutes, brush your teeth using fluoride toothpaste. Spend 30 seconds on each portion of the upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right teeth. 

• Angle the brush. The bristles should be aimed toward the gums where they meet the teeth, a junction where plaque and calculus collect. The bristles should be angled at a 45-degree angle rather than perpendicular to your teeth at a 90-degree angle. 

• Make circles with the bristles. To assist in picking up dirt at the gum line, gently sweep the bristles around in a circular manner. 

• Brush without distractions so you can focus on your brushing technique. 

• Be gentle. Your gums can become irritated and possibly hurt if you brush too vigorously. Brush your tongue, too. It collects loads of bacteria that need to be brushed away. 

• Rinse your mouth and your brush. Remove any toothpaste and food residue with water. 

• Check out your gums. Pull your lips away from your teeth after brushing to check for any remaining food particles. Your gums shouldn’t appear puffy or red.