Top tips for sparkling teeth

Top tips for sparkling teeth

You don’t need to spend thousands of pounds on cosmetic dentistry to get a fabulous smile, but you do have to invest some time and effort to keep your teeth in tip-top condition. Think how much you spend on haircuts each year!

The British Dental Health Foundation recommends the following:

• Brush your teeth twice a day using toothpaste that contains fluoride
• Use a small to medium sized brush – larger brushes don’t do the job faster, and they may not reach all the parts of the mouth
• Use a brush with soft to medium multi-tufted round-ended bristles
• Use small circular movements when cleaning your teeth
• Change your toothbrush regularly
• Clean between your teeth using dental floss or wood sticks
• Cut down on sugary snacks and drinks
• Visit the dentist regularly, as often as they recommend

Antiseptic mouthwashes can help prevent but not stop the build up of plaque.

Plaque disclosing tablets can reveal any plaque remaining after brushing.

Electric toothbrushes can be especially useful for people who may have difficulty in moving their arms. And children may find it fun to use them.

Flossing technique

Brushing helps get rid of some of the plaque and food particles on your teeth, but you also need to eliminate the build up between them as well. The BDHF suggests the following:

• Break off approximately 18 cm of floss and wind most of it around one of your middle fingers. Wind the remaining floss around the same finger of the other hand. As you use the floss, you will take up the used section with this finger
• Hold the floss tightly between thumb and forefingers. Have about an inch of floss between them without any slack
• Use a gentle “rocking” motion to guide the floss between your teeth
• Never jerk the floss into the gums
• Hold the floss against the tooth and gently scrape. Always move the floss away from the gum
• Start at the top of your mouth and work from left to right

Don’t worry if your gums bleed for a few days once you start flossing. But if it continues, pay a visit to the dentist.

This article was published on Mon 20 December 2010