Oral Hygiene

Brushing – How long and how often?

Teeth should be brushed twice a day for two minutes and flossed once a day. A lot of people rush their brushing (the average time spent being around 45 seconds) or skip it entirely.

Correct technique

Many people scrub too hard on the tooth and gum surfaces which actually causes more problems and doesn’t always get food out from between the teeth and round the gum line. People also forget to brush their tongue where a lot of bacteria can build up.

Eating habits

Each time we eat, the sugars in our food and drink are broken down by the bacteria in our mouths to form acid which immediately starts attacking our teeth. Half an hour after eating is when our teeth are at their weakest and most vulnerable (and, actually, brushing during that first half hour makes things worse so we need to wait if we want to brush after a meal). If we don’t eat anything else then our saliva goes to work to neutralise these acids and protect our teeth during the day until our next meal. But, if we continue to snack throughout the day, particularly on sweet foods and fizzy drinks, we’re constantly topping up the sugars that turn into acid so our teeth are under constant attack and saliva just can’t cope with that level of acid. Our teeth will start to erode and decay. The bottom line on eating habits is to eat fewer sugary foods and drinks and don’t snack between meals.

Diet

This is a harder issue to tackle but is such an important factor in good oral health that any improvements that can be made are worth it. The same problems that are caused by bad adult diets apply to children. The difference is that children’s teeth are not as strong and resistant as adult teeth and most tooth decay has already happened by age six. After that it either carries on getting worse or it gets treated. We have the chance to stop it from happening in the first place by teaching good oral hygiene and eating habits, which will be their best defence against painful tooth decay.