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WHERE TO BRUSH

So, now that we know WHY it is important to remove dental plaque, we can now proceed to find out WHERE it always accumulates, because these areas will be the places that we will need to clean. These areas are:

• the junction where the teeth meet the gums,
• in between the teeth, and
• the biting surface (fissures) of the teeth
• the smooth surfaces of the teeth

Notice that the smooth surface of the teeth is last on the list. This is because the tongue, lips and cheeks rub on these areas continuously, mostly preventing the accumulation of plaque. So, brushing lots on this area is not doing much at all. Unfortunately, this is area we usually concentrate on! Also remember that there are several surfaces to each tooth. Each surface needs to be addressed while cleaning:

• the biting/munching side
• the lip side
• the cheek side
• the tongue side (on the lower teeth)
• the palate side (on the top teeth)

Toothbrushing by itself, is effective on all of these surfaces except IN BETWEEN the teeth. This is because the bristles on the toothbrush are too thick to fit in between those areas. This is why flossing is important, but this will be discussed in TIP 2 : FLOSSING! There are a few other topics within TOOTHBRUSHING which will be discussed over the next few posts including:

• Toothbrushing techniques,
• Electric vs Manual toothbrushes,
• When to brush your teeth,
• and much more…

Till then, keep up with the great work!