How to brush teeth, how to floss properly

Halloween candy can be a delicious treat, but can seriously damage your teeth. There are many tips and tricks that can keep your teeth clean during trick-or-treat season.

In order to keep your smile bright, you should brush at least twice a day and floss once a day.

When brushing, use gentle strokes and focus on brushing halfway around the gums and halfway around the tooth. Massaging the gums gently helps clean and strengthen them.

When flossing, gently move the floss just below the gum line in a C shape and “hug” each tooth.

Having braces can make brushing even trickier. Lots of food and debris can get caught around the brackets, and poor oral hygiene can lead to cavities, gum disease, and white spots on the teeth once braces are removed.

To best clean teeth with braces, angle the brush 45 degrees towards the gums and teeth. An electric toothbrush and water pick are great adjuncts to improve oral hygiene. Brushing often and after every meal and snack is very important to remove food that becomes stuck around brackets.

Although no candy is healthy in general, certain candies are especially bad for your teeth. Sticky, gummy candies are most likely to cause cavities since they hold sugar on your teeth for the longest amount of time and are difficult to clean off teeth. Hard candies are most likely to break teeth or restorations that are on your teeth.

When you do indulge, there are some tricks you can utilize to minimize damage. Having proper oral hygiene will help remove candy debris and sugar. Eating the candy in a short amount of time limits the exposure to sugar and acid. If you slowly suck or eat candy all day, you bathe your teeth in sugar and acid and can get many cavities very quickly.

Good habits such as brushing, flossing, and fluoridated toothpaste or mouth rinse can help strengthen your teeth. If you are not at home and eat candy, even rinsing with water after can help return your saliva to a normal pH faster and can wash away sugar. If you have a high cavity risk, fluoride treatments can be applied at the dental office to provide extra protection to your teeth.

These easy tips and tricks can help protect your teeth from Halloween and Holiday Season sugars.

Schedule a visit today to have a checkup and ensure your teeth are cavity-free!