We present you with a 5-step guide through the most important routine of the day - surprises included.
Brushing your teeth is as much a part of your daily routine as getting up for bed. Most of us know how to do it - or should know it, as we have been trained to do it since childhood. Yet there are still some techniques that achieve maximum results with minimal effort and are largely unknown. We present our top 5:
Start with mouthwash!
They are popular in the fight against bad breath and are therefore often used at the end of the toothbrushing routine: mouthwashes. But you should put the rinse at the beginning. It always fights bacteria equally vehemently, but: If you rinse your mouth after brushing your teeth, you also wash away remineralising substances!
Brush the gum line as well.
To get a good result, you should brush for at least two to three minutes. This is common knowledge, but most people estimate the time to be considerably shorter. Once you set your timer, you will realize that actual two real minutes takes much longer than estimated! Also - and here's the thing - be sure to brush the gum line as well. Dr Hannah Selzner, dentist and medical advisor at Swissdent, always emphasises this: «It is essential that the gums are also stimulated and cleaned when brushing the teeth, because plaque mainly accumulates on the chewing surfaces and at the transition between tooth and gum. This is something that many patients don't even know!» This fact also leads to the next point:
The toothbrush wants to be used in red and white technique.
You may be able to guess: Red-white refers to the combination of gums and enamel. But this approach also implies that a certain method comes into play: instead of scrubbing techniques, which tend to damage the gums, brushing is done in calm, circular motions.
Use dental floss properly!
It's a subject that meets with resistance from many - flossing. It's easy to explain why: if used incorrectly, i.e. with sawing movements, the gums start to bleed easily. In addition, the handling per se is impractical. Both can be playfully avoided. The first, according to Dr Hannah Selzner, is to «first get between the teeth. You can then make light sawing movements there. On the other hand, you should go gently along the surface of the tooth.»
The second is to switch to interdental brushes.
And last but not least:
Keep the toothpaste in your mouth.
But only the right one, please: remineralising toothpastes rebuild tooth enamel, so it's a good idea to keep it in your mouth. This is the only way for it to develop its full power.
Photo: @pixabay