Brushing and Flossing Guidelines

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Your dentist, Dr. Jessie Hunter, and our Allen Pediatric Dentistry dental team care for you and your smile, which is why we ask you to care for your teeth and gums each day at home with oral hygiene. However, oral hygiene is only effective if you use the proper techniques to brush and floss. So, to help you know how to correctly clean your chompers, our team is happy to give you the following guidelines:

How to brush:

1. Hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gumline.

2. Use just enough pressure to feel the bristles against your gums and teeth. Make sure not to push too hard that you’re squishing the bristles.

3. Brush the outside, inside, and top of each tooth. Use short, circular strokes with your scrubbing motion. Gently brush along the gumline as well.

4. When brushing the front teeth, tilt the brush vertically and make up-and-down motions with the front of the brush.

5. Brush your teeth for a solid two minutes.

6. When the time is up and you have completed your cleaning job, remember to brush your tongue.

How to floss:

1. Start by using about 18 inches of floss. Wind most of the floss around one of your middle fingers and then wind the rest around the same finger on the other hand.

2. Keep about 1 inch of floss between your fingers and gently glide that section between your teeth using a gentle sawing motion. Make sure you use a clean section of floss between each tooth.

3. When you reach the gumline, curve the floss into a C and scrape it against your tooth.

4. Scrape the sides of each tooth and remove as much plaque and food particles as you can. Don’t forget to clean between the back molars.

5. Repeat this process for each tooth. Please remember to be gentle as you floss along the gumline. If you haven’t flossed in awhile, your gums might feel a bit tender and sore. This is normal and it will go away with time.

Call 972-535-8169 today if you would like to learn more about oral hygiene in Allen, Texas! We will be more than happy to give you all of the information you need to succeed. We look forward to helping you!