Brushing your teeth is an important part of your dental care routine. To gain the maximum benefit from brushing your teeth, you should brush at least twice daily, two minutes each morning and night, spending roughly 30 seconds on each quarter of your mouth.

How should I Brush?

Two minutes is actually a lot longer than most people think. At NB Dental we recommend playing your favourite song until it ends or brushing in the shower whilst your conditioner is in your hair. This will make sure your teeth get all the cleaning they need.

It’s easy to not give much thought to how you brush your teeth when you are rushing out for work in the mornings, chasing the children around or when you are overtired and eager to get to bed. But it’s important to remember it’s all in the technique. To gain results that make a difference, the following steps should become part of your important brushing routine.

Place your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gums & gently move the in small circular motions along each tooth surface.	Ensure you brush the outer surfaces, the inner surfaces, and the chewing surfaces of every tooth	To clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth, tilt the brush vertically and make several up-and- down strokes.	Brush your tongue to remove bacteria and keep your breath fresh.

If you have an electric toothbrush, you should be guiding the moving brush head slowly from tooth to tooth following the contours of the tooth and the curve of the gums.

It’s very important to use a soft or ultra-soft toothbrush and try to avoid brushing with too much force. Using excessive scrubbing movements, force or medium and hard toothbrush bristles can damage the surface of your teeth and wear away your gums, both of which are irreversible. How much toothpaste should you use? You only need a pea-sized amount to get the job done. We advise to spit out the excess paste after brushing but resist rinsing out as this will leave a small amount of fluoride in your mouth to help further protect your teeth. It’s important to replace your toothbrush every three or four months or sooner if the bristles are frayed. If you’ve just had a cold, replace your toothbrush so you don’t get reinfected by the germs in the bristles. A worn toothbrush will not do an efficient job of cleaning your teeth.  

But brushing only does half the job! Did you know 50% of the surfaces of your teeth are not reached by tooth brushing alone? In addition to brushing, it’s also very important to use floss daily to remove the plaque and food particles from between your teeth and under the gum line that your toothbrush will not be able to reach. Tooth decay and gum disease causing bacteria will still linger between teeth where toothbrush bristles cannot reach.