“What are the steps involved in maintaining good oral hygiene?”

Question

Dentist Questions Oral Hygiene

“What are the steps involved in maintaining good oral hygiene?”

I brush my teeth twice a day and gargle my mouth every time I finish eating my food. What else should I do to maintain a good oral hygiene?

19 Answers

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**Dr. Vito Foto** Dentist Bronxville, NY · Accepted Answer

Dr. Vito Foto Dentist Bronxville, NY

Flossing every day will help maintain gum health

**Dr. Daniel Bishop** Dentist Salt Lake City, Utah · Accepted Answer

I personally have found that the following system works best. Floss up and down with a C-shape made by the floss while pulling/pushing towards the surface between the teeth you are trying to clean. Flossing all the teeth in this way after a little practice only takes 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure to come up away from the gums to meet the contact/resistance between the teeth before moving the floss across to the adjacent tooth surface so you don't cut or injure your gums. Following this use a Sonicare Toothbrush. They use ultrasonic vibrations that will produce the equivalent of 31,000 brush strokes/minute. Because the bristles vibrate and do not rotate like the Oral-B's they are more effective and more gentle on the gums and teeth. Don't scrub your teeth, just guide the Sonicare where you want it to clean the sides and tops of the teeth and let it do the work. Whether you use a manual or electric tooth brush only use two fingers worth of pressure, don't think of it like scrubbing, Think of it like sweeping the teeth. After this I use a Breath RX tongue scrapper. There are two sides soft/coarse. I use the coarse side around three times scraping from the back to the front of the tongue. Following this I Waterpik on a setting 8 to 10 from the cheek side first and then the roof of the mouth or tongue side irrigating the scallops of the gums and in between the teeth. If you have never used a Waterpik, or it has been a while since you used one you should start on the 4 setting and over a week or two gradually move the setting up. If I use mouth wash it is the last thing I do.

**Neal Nealis** Dentist Chicago, IL · Accepted Answer

Neal Nealis Dentist Chicago, IL

The gargling is not as important as brushing with an electric tooth brush, flossing at least every other day and having your teeth professionally cleaned and checked twice yearly. Also do not eat carbohydrates between meals. Nuts and veggies are okay, but not fruit, grains, dairy or starches.

**Cristina Daniela Balan** Dentist Rotterdam, Netherlands · Accepted Answer

Cristina Daniela Balan Dentist Rotterdam, Netherlands

Drink enough water, use apples as cleaning teeth from time to time. Try to take multivitamins supplements for 3 months in the winter.

**Dr. Riverside Family Dental** Dentist Mt.Clemens, Michigan · Accepted Answer

Dr. Riverside Family Dental Dentist Mt.Clemens, Michigan

Floss daily and visit a dentist every six months.

**Sophia Bednarski** Dentist St. Louis, Missouri · Accepted Answer

Sophia Bednarski Dentist St. Louis, Missouri

Need to make sure that you brush long enough. I recommend at least 4 minutes before you go to bed.

**Dr. Michael Acquista** Dentist Brooklyn, NY · Accepted Answer

Dr. Michael Acquista Dentist Brooklyn, NY

floss daily and just gargle with water. Go to the dentist twice a year for professional cleaning.

**Dr. Mathew L. Stewart** Dentist Reno, NV · Accepted Answer

Brushing and flossing 2x per day is very important. You have a great start right there. Next you would want to ensure that you are using the propper brushing and flossing techniques. In addition, I would highly recommend the use of a Waterpik in addition to flossing at least once per day. Lastly, normal recall care and checkup exams are very important to catch any issues early and adjust your Italy hygiene care as needed.

**Charles F. Lockhart** Dentist Chicago, Illinois · Accepted Answer

Charles F. Lockhart Dentist Chicago, Illinois

Visit a dentist for an exam and X-rays and a professional cleaning with hygiene instructions to maintain a healthy oral cavity.

**Sura Hadad** Dentist Halifax, Nova Scotia · Accepted Answer

Sura Hadad Dentist Halifax, Nova Scotia

Flossing is very important too.

**Carla H. Schlissel** Dentist West Islip, New York · Accepted Answer

Carla H. Schlissel Dentist West Islip, New York

Be sure your toothbrush is cleaning along your gumline and floss every night. Good job.

**Sang Pil Yu** Dentist Katy, Texas · Accepted Answer

These are steps that you should follow to maintain a good oral hygiene-
1. The preventive care you need to focus on is first maintaining your healthy balanced diet.
2. Among different types of toothbrushes available, choose the spare brush.
3. Try to chew sugar-free gums after having your daily meals.
4. Make use of wish cleaning tool that contains cleaning solution stored in it.

**Dr. Frank V. Peritore** Dentist Brooklyn, New York · Accepted Answer

Dr. Frank V. Peritore Dentist Brooklyn, New York

Floss, floss, floss... and get regular professional cleanings at least twice per year.

**Dr. Thu-Nga H. Ortega** Dentist Fairfax, Virginia · Accepted Answer

Dr. Thu-Nga H. Ortega Dentist Fairfax, Virginia

You are doing everything well. I would also suggest getting a tongue scraper to remove plaque on your tongue. This plaque on your tongue causes bad breath. Also, a great product to use is a waterpik. This helps to remove a lot of food that can be caught between teeth.

**Amy G. David** Dentist · Accepted Answer

Amy G. David Dentist

I would definitely add flossing to your daily routine. Also, if you have recession, pocketing or deeper restorations in any area of the mouth, a water pik can really help maintain those areas and improve gingival health.

**Henry Buhl** Dentist Chattanooga, Tennessee · Accepted Answer

The most important part of good oral hygiene is to maintain twice a year visits to your dentist in order that he supervises your long-term dental health. Or his high dentist will show you the proper way to use dental floss and the proper technique to use brushing and give you the proper toothbrush to use based on your dental health individually. This will get you off on the right path knowing exactly what you need to do to maintain your mouth over the course of your lifetime.

**Dr. Scott M. Dubowsky** Dentist Bayonne, New Jersey · Accepted Answer

Brushing is a good start. Make sure you brush the cheek side, the tongue side, and the biting side in all four quadrants of the mouth. This should take approximately 2 minutes. You should brush like this at least twice a day using a soft brush, use small strokes and angle the brush 45 degrees into the neck of the tooth where it meets the gum. Since a tooth has five sides and brushing only reaches three sides, you also need to floss at least once a day. Make sure you use a long enough piece and wrap the floss around each side of the tooth as you go around.

Many are now also advocating brushing the tongue to reduce bacterial counts. These devices can be found in most pharmacies,

Finally, there's mouthwash. It depends on what you are using. My opinion is that if you are using an alcohol based mouthwash, you should not use it more them once or twice a day since it can adversely affect the soft tissues in the mouth. IMHO mouthwash is a good adjunct, but does not take the place of the mechanical methods i just described.

SCOTT M DUBOWSKY DMD FAGD

**Dr. Tuan Anh Vu** Dentist · Accepted Answer

Dr. Tuan Anh Vu Dentist

Hello, thanks for asking. This is a very simple way of maintaining good hygiene: first, you need to floss each meal beside brushing and rinsing mouthwash. Also, you need to see a dentist every 6 months.

**Dr. Heidi R. Finkelstein** Dentist Fort Lauderdale, FL · Accepted Answer

Dr. Heidi R. Finkelstein Dentist Fort Lauderdale, FL

It is important to incorporate flossing once a day. I recommend traditional floss since you can "hug" the crevices of the teeth and really remove the debris between them. Check out our facebook and/or website for videos on different flossing techniques around natural teeth, bridges, and implants.
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