We’ve all been told about the importance of flossing, brushing twice every day, and making regular visits to your dental office in Whitby. These are all activities that can start in childhood, and help you build and maintain healthy teeth, gums, and overall health and wellness that allows you to have a bright, healthy smile long into your senior years.

Let’s dive into each one of these activities and explain why they’re so important to your oral hygiene.

Brushing twice a day.

Brushing your teeth twice a day is the easiest, most important thing you can do to keep your teeth and gums healthy. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and a fluoride-toothpaste, and spend 30 seconds cleaning the food, bacteria, and plaque from your teeth. Plaque is a transparent layer of bacteria that is easy to remove, but if left on its own, it will turn a yellow or light-brown colour and form a hard substance called tarter. Tarter is hard to remove and must be tended to by a dental professional during your regularly scheduled check-ups with your Downtown Whitby dentist and team. Making sure this plaque is removed before it becomes tarter is an easy way to make your dental appointments shorter, more comfortable, and less expensive.

Flossing and scraping.

We all know that flossing is important, but so many of us skip this easy activity that plays a key role in maintaining our oral health. Flossing stimulates the gums, reducing the likelihood of developing gum disease. It also cleans between the teeth – an area that’s very hard to reach by brushing alone. Another activity that is often skipped that will improve your oral hygiene is tongue scraping. You can buy a tongue scraper for just a few dollars at almost any pharmacy and use this simple tool to clean the surface of the tongue to remove that fuzzy white film that so many of us develop from bacteria that builds up in that area. Flossing your teeth and scraping your tongue are both great ways to improve your oral hygiene, have a healthy, clean mouth and fresh breath.

Regular dental check-ups.

The importance of regular dental check-ups in maintaining good oral hygiene cannot be overstated. Visiting your dentist in Whitby is your best opportunity to have small problems easily treated before they develop into big problems that cause significant damage and require invasive, uncomfortable and expensive treatments. Your dental hygienist will give your teeth a thorough examination at these appointments, and professionally clean and floss your teeth removing plaque, tarter and seeing if anything worrisome is happening in your mouth. They will check for damage from clenching or grinding and look for early signs of oral cancer.

If you have questions about how to maintain your oral hygiene, call our team of dental professionals today. We’ll set up a time to assess your current condition and set up an appointment that works with your busy schedule. Downtown Whitby Dentistry is located in downtown Whitby at 130 Byron Street North. Our office is accepting new patients and emergencies.