Four Mistakes To Avoid When Brushing Your Teeth

By Cover Media

Four Mistakes To Avoid When Brushing Your Teeth
Are you brushing your teeth properly?

Brushing your teeth is a simple task that should be done twice a day, but there are a few things you may be doing that can damage your teeth.

Cosmetic dentist and founder of the Marylebone Smile Clinic, Dr Sahil Patel, reveals the habits you should avoid when cleaning your pearly whites.

Don’t skip your nightly clean

Many of us are guilty of forgetting to brush our teeth at night because we just want to go to bed, but we are doing ourselves a disservice.

“Brushing our teeth once a day is more common than we think,” Dr Patel says. “Many people do this, and if you’re going to miss a clean, miss the morning, not the evening.”

He continues, “The reason for this is because the saliva reduces whilst you sleep, so the food that you’ve had during the day will stay in your teeth will stay and fester overnight, causing bigger problems. So don’t miss the evening brush!”

Start at the back

Brushing your teeth from back to front can help you avoid missing parts of your mouth.

“I’d recommend starting at the back first, which is often the hardest part to clean,” Dr Patel states. “If you start at the front and do the back last, you’re more likely to stop and put it down, missing the back or not cleaning the back properly.”

Don’t wet your toothbrush

Most of us are used to wetting our toothbrushes before applying toothpaste, but this actually dilutes it.

“If you wet the toothbrush before you put the toothpaste on, you’re diluting it,” the dentist warns. “Toothpaste already has the right amount of moisture. If it’s wet, it makes it foam up faster and makes you spit it out sooner.”

Hold your brush gently

Brushing with too much force can damage your teeth.

“Don’t be too heavy-handed. Often people hold their brush with a fist. You shouldn’t feel like you’ve had a scrub against the teeth, that’s too much,” he advises, noting that you’re brushing too hard if the bristles of your toothbrush spread out.

 

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