Preventative Care
Home Care
Brush twice a day
- Soft toothbrush (manual or electric)
- Use an ADA (American Dental Association) approved toothpaste; such approval implies proper fluoride content
- Brush chewing surfaces of teeth
- Brush cheek and tongue side of teeth at 45 degree angle to tooth
- Be certain when brushing sides of teeth that brush is contacting gums
- Brush behind the last teeth in both arches
- Spend 2-3 minutes twice a day
- Do NOT rinse, eat or drink for 30 minutes after brushing. Doing such will rinse the fluoride out of your mouth instead of having time to absorb into your teeth.
Clean between your teeth at least once a day
- Flossing is the best way to clean between your teeth
- Slide floss up and down both sides of each tooth
- Simply "snapping" floss through is not enough; the floss must slide below the edge of your gums to remove plaque and debris from below the gumline
- When flossing your back teeth, remember to floss behind the last tooth!
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