Brushing Your Teeth Correctly: Dental Care & Oral Hygiene

Video Transcript

"Hi my name is Carol and I am a registered dental hygienist and I will be speaking on behalf of Expert Village. In this clip I am going to demonstrate on how to correctly brush your teeth. Whenever brushing your teeth, you want to make sure to brush two times a day and it is also important to brush for the full 2 minutes whenever you brush because your main goal in brushing is to remove plaque and buildup that is on the teeth. When you start brushing, you want to make sure to get every side of every tooth. When you start brushing, make sure to get the back teeth first. We are going to start on the inside and the outside of the upper and lower teeth. When you angle the toothbrush, you want to make sure to get it at about a 45 degree angle to the gum line because this is mainly where the plaque buildup gets on the teeth. Whenever you start brushing, start at the back and start doing small tooth size circles gradually moving forward. You want to make sure when you are brushing not to do a harsh back and forth motion because this can cut the gums. Continue to do the small tooth size circles along the gum line. It is the motion that removes the plaque. You are going to do the same for the lower arch. Aim the bristles towards the gum line and do the small circles. You are going to do this all the way around same with on the inside of the teeth. Same 45 degree angle, small circles all the way around. When brushing the chewing surfaces of the teeth, you want to make sure to hold the toothbrush flat on the chewing surface and go back and forth. This removes the plaque from in between the teeth. Also whenever you are brushing the fronts, the anterior teeth you might try using the toe of the toothbrush which is the tip of the toothbrush. It allows easier access into these areas than trying to fit the brush in horizontally. So turn your toothbrush vertically still aiming the bristles at a 45 degree angle and doing the small circles all the way across on the inside and also on the upper arch doing the small circles. This whole process should take about 2 minutes. Adults and kids should all brush for that amount of time and you want to make sure to brush your teeth in the morning after you have breakfast and at night time before you go to bed and this prevents plaque buildup. "