Brushing your teeth is a simple thing that most dentists take it for
granted. Yet, I find it one of most common problems that many of my patients
face. Most, if not all of my patients have heard from dentists that they need
to floss. However, according to the survey 8% of people floss and
probably most of 8% that floss are dentists. Flossing is not an easy task. And
one of my friends told me “I tell my dentist that I floss everyday because
I know what my dentist would say.”
Brushing your teeth at night. As I
encounter patients every day, I find patients have cavities and gum diseases
because they do not brush their teeth at night, not because they don’t floss or
they have genetically bad teeth. Most patients that have many oral issues do
not brush at night. Patients who have rampant cavities or gum infection were
not brushing their teeth before they went to bed. Most of them brushed their teeth
in the morning and ate breakfast afterwards.
Don’t eat anything after brushing. Another common complain
that I receive from my patients are “I brush my teeth twice a day, every day!”
When they are asked if they eat any food or drinks after brushing, some
patients admit that they do “sometimes” have snacks after they brush.
After brushing, one should not eat or drink other than water.
Brush for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not rush. We as a dentist
usually tell our patients to brush for 2-3 minutes. However, the problem is that
most patients with cavities or gum infection do not spend enough time to brush their
teeth. I found some people try to do
“100 strokes of brushing per second.” Before I became a dentist, I
thought I was the fastest brusher in the world and can crunch 2 minutes of brushing
into 30 seconds. The truth is unless you
are a superman, it is almost impossible. Just like blooming the floor, one should
bloom in a slow controlled fashion, not quick strokes. Next time, try to take
some time and brush for 2 minutes minimum, and please note 1 stroke does not
mean 1 second. Remember, it is “your” teeth that you are brushing,
not anybody else’s.
You should realize better dental health equals to better overall health.
Eugene Cho, DMD
www.acecaredental.com
https://plus.google.com/105467293905938369683/#105467293905938369683/about
