At Georgian Shores Dental Centre, our goal is to help you keep your teeth as healthy as possible, and that starts with good dental hygiene. There is a lot of information about dental hygiene out there, and not all of it is accurate, so we created this article to shed some light on the subject.
Below, we’ll go over the answers to a few of our most frequently asked questions about dental hygiene.
- How often should I brush my teeth? Brushing your teeth is the first step to maintaining good dental hygiene. We recommend brushing twice a day: once in the morning and once before bed. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush, as stiff bristles are often too abrasive on the tooth enamel and use a toothpaste that contains fluoride.
- Is flossing really necessary? Yes, flossing is a necessary step for achieving good dental hygiene. We recommend flossing once daily, ideally in the evenings, before brushing your teeth. In our experience, many people struggle to floss consistently because they dislike the process of wrapping and re-wrapping floss around their fingers. If this sounds familiar, we encourage you to use single-use floss picks instead.
- Do I need mouthwash? Yes, we encourage you to rinse your mouth with an anti-bacterial, fluoride mouthwash once per day. This helps get rid of any remaining plaque or bacteria on your teeth. We recommend using an alcohol-free formula to avoid dry mouth. Also, if the taste of mouthwash is too strong for you, there’s no shame in using a mouthwash designed for kids, which comes in different, milder flavours.