Practicing Good Oral Hygiene

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Dr. Alida Smisek on behalf of expertvillage.com. I'm here to talk to you about tooth whitening tips and techniques. In this clip, we're going to talk about oral hygiene. The basis for a white smile all comes down to good oral hygiene. There are lots of things out on the market that can help you maintain a white and healthy smile. One of the basic tools you need is a toothbrush. When you're brushing your teeth, we've all probably learned a long time ago to scrub. You want to make sure that you're not scrubbing really hard and always using a soft brush to prevent recession and wear down on enamel. Try and use your brush in an upward stroke on the bottom arch and downward stoke on the top arch to help prevent receding gum lines. You always want to make sure you're flossing at least once a day. Use whatever floss that's going to fit best between your teeth. When you're flossing, you want to make sure the floss goes right down between your teeth and underneath the gums, and you want to try and go in between each tooth in your mouth. If you have difficultly getting the floss, particularly in the back of your mouth, there's lots of new things on the market that can help you get to those back teeth without having to put your fingers way back far in the mouth. For people who have large spaces between their teeth, you can use things like a Sulcabrush to get into those spaces. It's a smaller brush with a pointy edge that helps get into the small spaces in your mouth. If you have bridgework or implants, things like that that you need to get underneath you can get what's called a proxy brush to clean underneath those types of prostheses. Also, flossing should not be avoided when you have a bridge or if you have braces on your teeth, you can get floss threaders that help you negotiate your floss underneath your bridge or underneath your braces and you're still able to get in there and floss. Another thing that can be used to control plaque in your mouth is a tongue scraper. It just scrapes along the tongue and it helps to control the bacteria in your mouth and plaque as well. By practicing good oral hygiene, you can control plaque and tartar, which building up on your teeth can cause a yellowish type of film to form which would give the appearance of staining. Regular visits to your dental professional to have your teeth cleaned will also help prevent that build up of plaque and tartar and help maintain a nice healthy white smile. "