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5175 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Ste. 201

Long Beach, CA 90804

Keeping your teeth clean and healthy is an essential part of your dental hygiene routine. Getting on track with your teeth care though takes time and effort. Here are some tips to get started on improving your hygiene routine.

 

How Often Should I Brush My Teeth?

 

While three times a day (at each meal time) is best, aim for at least twice a day. That way, you can begin and end your day with quality dental hygiene. Additionally, you’ll be able to become more aware of how your food and drink intake affects that process.

 

Should I use an electric toothbrush?

 

Electric toothbrushes are highly effective routes to keep your teeth clean. They elevate strong habits to be even more effective in your daily dental hygiene routine, and will also create lasting impressions on your teeth. One of the best benefits is consistent pressure applied by electric toothbrushes. You won’t have to rely as much on your own power, and let the brush work itself. Also, electric toothbrushes are exceptional pairings with good flossing routines.

 

Flossing is far easier with electric toothbrushes, given how the brushes are able to massage teeth and gums and loosen any debris between teeth. You’ll find yourself requiring less time to actually floss, and the process will become easier and easier.

 

Does Flossing Really Matter?

 

Yes! Flossing is a major factor in your oral health. Without flossing, even consistent brushing will only go so far. You need to floss in order to catch anything that your toothbrush doesn’t. However thorough and effective your practice is, floss is always better. Take that extra minute or two out of your day and make sure you round out your hygiene routine with flossing.

 

Best Tip For a Great Dental Hygiene Routine

 

Consistency, consistency, consistency! You don’t go to the gym and expect your athletic performance to change in a day or even a week. It takes months to see a really strong change. You build yourself up for that growth the same way you do with your oral health. As you build this consistency and get in the habit, you’ll see the results in the long haul. Remember: your teeth will thank you later!

 

Once you’ve developed consistency, then you can become more efficient. Taking less time to clean your teeth isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Eventually, you’ll just get better and better at what you’ve practiced in the first place. As time goes on though, you will occasionally notice issues with your teeth and oral health.

 

Common Dental Health Problems

 

Tooth pain derived from cold liquids – cold liquids will begin hurting your teeth when dentin is exposed to the liquid. This happens most often when the enamel in your teeth is broken down constantly. Overall, your teeth will become more sensitive over time.

 

Stained teeth – frequent coffee drinkers are familiar with this one. Your teeth become stained over time when you consume heavy foods, medications, tobacco, coffee, etc. They all will contribute to stains that can go deeper than the surface, which will need to be mended by a few different things. You can try bleaching your teeth, using toothpaste specially made for whitening, etc. Overall, the best route is to get in contact with your dentist.

 

Cavities – cavities are extremely common for those with a poor dental hygiene routine. Fortunately, they can be mended with fillings. The best route to avoid these in the first place though is to cut down on soda, candy, and other highly-acidic, sugar-based food. With those still prominently in your diet, expect to see cavities throughout your life.

 

Chipped tooth- chipping your teeth isn’t always some freak accident. Unfortunately, these will pop up randomly from even the mildest actions, like chewing a particularly hard-shelled candy or even popcorn. In other instances, an accident on a bike or outdoors can easily cause this as well. Be sure to be attentive to the injury when it happens and seek dental assistance as soon as possible.

 

Crafting a Personalized Dental Hygiene Routine

 

Overall, there’s a ton for you to consider about dental hygiene. However, you’ll want to hone in on the issues affecting you most. Do you hate how stained your teeth are? Are you aiming to prevent more cavities? Is flossing regularly hurting your gums? Don’t take all of our dental health advice to heart. You have to consider how it affects you personally. Of course, these are all great habits to have, but you need to give your dental issues attention.

 

Schedule an Appointment

 

For any dental pain you have, give us a call today for an appointment. We’ll assess your dental hygiene and which issues are most pressing, and then give you a course of action to correct it. Dental health is often a lot simpler than it seems, it’s just making the commitment to yourself. We’re really looking forward to helping you out!