at home dental care in fairfax

To help fight cavities, bad breath, and the growth of disease-causing bacteria, you should brush your teeth at least twice a day—before breakfast and before bed—for at least 2 minutes per brushing.

Why 2 Minutes?

According to American Dental Association research statistics, brushing for two minutes achieves clinically significant plaque removal. Plus, the use of fluoride toothpaste enhances fluoride concentration levels in your mouth and allows time for the remineralization process to occur with efficacy.

If you don’t take two minutes, you may not remove as much tooth-damaging plaque, and the fluoride won’t have proper time to help protect your teeth.

Why brush before breakfast and before bed?

Brushing before breakfast helps prepare your teeth for the day. The fluoride strengthens your enamel, and the brushing removes plaque and bacteria that built up during the night.

You need to brush your teeth before you go to bed at night (or whenever you do most of your sleeping) to remove food debris and lower the amount of bacteria in your mouth before sleep.

When you sleep, you’re not drinking water or consuming food, which can allow bacteria to thrive and build up plaque.

Plaque is a sticky film that forms on your teeth as a product of bacterial interaction with sugars and starches. This goo eats away at your tooth’s enamel, and if left unchecked can become a hardened form called “tartar.” Tartar will prevent a harmful build-up of plaque through the night. .

When left to build up, plaque can also cause gingivitis or severe periodontal (gum) disease. When it becomes tartar, the bacteria can cause bad breath (halitosis) and stain/discolor your teeth.

Brushing your teeth stimulates your gums, too, helping to remove bacteria at the gum line, and promoting blood flow and circulation.

But in the morning, have you noticed a white film on your tongue? It’s called “white tongue,” and it’s the result of an overgrowth and swelling of the tiny projections (papillae) on the surface of your tongue.

Bacteria, dead cells, fungi, and food debris can get lodged between the swollen papillae. This is usually harmless, and can be brushed away to remove a bacterial paradise, and to freshen breath.

Cleaning up white tongue also ensures that prolonged irritation there doesn’t become a more serious problem, such as thrush. Also, if you keep your tongue clean but white spots persist, that could be a sign of more serious concerns, such as cancer. Brushing your tongue when you brush your teeth is just part of overall oral health!

We will never say there’s too much. If you like to really spread that toothpaste thick on your soft bristles, do it.

However, you don’t need to use large amounts of toothpaste. A pea-sized dollop of fluoride toothpaste is really about all that’s required. But you do you, because we’re proud you’re doing your dental care at home!

Using a soft-bristle toothbrush, brush the front, back, and top of each tooth. Be gentle; you don’t need to scrub your teeth like a pan in the kitchen sink. Gently brush up and down in short strokes, allowing the brush to also stimulate your gums. You can alternate some to back and forth strokes, but up and down does the best cleaning between the teeth and on the front and back surfaces.

If you’re using a powered toothbrush, follow the instructions that came with it, but remember to touch the front, back and top of each tooth, and make sure you brush for at least 2 minutes.

Brushing for at least 2 minutes gives the fluoride in your toothpaste time to work properly. If you really, really want your fluoride to do magic for your teeth, wait at least 20 minutes before rinsing your mouth after brushing. That also means you should try not to drink water, coffee, or tea for that 20 minutes.

Another great way to support your oral health is to wait the 20 minutes after your brushing, and then rinse with a fluoridated mouthwash. Talk about a clean mouth! This works especially well for anyone with recurring issues or gum disease.

You also don’t have to rinse your mouth at all! After spitting out the foam from your teeth brushing, you can go on with your day (or go to bed) without issue.

Flossing between your teeth removes trapped food and debris, especially that which your toothbrush can’t reach. It also does the important job of loosening and removing plaque.

You should floss at least once per day. Many of our patients floss at night to remove food and debris from between and around their teeth overnight. It removes the food source for bacteria, and can make “morning breath” less harsh.

However, flossing in the morning or afternoon is also a positive, preventative measure. And be sure to floss when you feel like there’s something caught or stuck between your teeth.

Pull out a piece of floss that’s around 18 inches long, and wrap the ends around your middle fingers. Using your thumbs and forefingers, guide the floss between two teeth and wrap it around one tooth in a C shape. The pressure on the tooth should be snug, but not like you’re trying to saw your way through it.

Then, use about 10 up and down strokes. Note that this isn’t a back-and-forth movement. Running the floss back-and-forth too much can create grooves in your tooth’s enamel, creating food traps and homes for bacteria to damage your teeth.

After the 10 up and down strokes, wrap the floss around the other tooth and repeat the process. Continue this throughout your mouth, including cleaning the back of your end molars.

You may use a Waterpik® or some other water-propulsion device for flossing. These work great for getting food and debris out of spaces between your teeth and under bridges. However, water flossers don’t work well on plaque. They can remove some, but don’t have the efficacy that flossing with dental floss does.

You can use both to great advantage. But if you only choose one route for flossing, use dental floss.

At Oakton Family Dentistry, we recommend dental visits every 6 months for the best protection of your teeth and best detection of possible issues affecting oral health.

As coach says, the best offense is a good defense. Routine dental exams can spot dental health issues early on, before they’ve caused extensive damage. This not only can save you much time and money, it saves your wonderful smile.

You’ll also be able to assess the effectiveness of your home teeth care, and get professional tips on how to improve your self care if needed.

It’s also nice to know when you’re doing great! As you develop your partnership with Oakton Family Dentistry for your oral health, we can evaluate and adjust how often you need to come see us.

We’ve gone over the big 3 for your at home teeth and oral health care:

1. Brush your teeth twice per day, for at least 2 minutes each time.
2. Floss between your teeth at least once per day.
3. Visit your dentist every 6 months.

There are also choices you can make in your life that will help you keep your smile bright and strong for years to come.

Sugar is like bacterial jet-fuel. It helps bacteria crank up the plaque production, which in turn eats away at your tooth enamel.

The World Health Organization recommends that “free sugars”—the simple sugars added to food, not already present as starches—should make up 5% or less of your daily calorie intake. That’s about 30 grams, or 8 teaspoons of sugar.

A 12-ounce can of non-diet Coke® has 35 grams of sugar! It’s easy to race past recommended amounts. Be aware of how much you’re taking in, because not only does it affect your overall health; it’s bad for your teeth.

Beyond the other health consequences of tobacco usage, smoking or chewing tobacco can cause or greatly aggravate:

• Gingival infection/gum disease
• Tooth discoloration
• Enamel erosion
• Oral cancer

Having a tongue or other oral piercing can be a mode of self-expression. However, the American Dental Association (ADA) discourages getting one of these because of the effects they’ve been known to have on teeth health.

Oral Piercings can cause:

• Tooth fracture
• Tooth wear
• Tooth chipping
• Gingival recession
• Increased risk of infection

The ADA website offers a larger list of possible issues.

They may be advertised as cheaper and easier to use, but DIY orthodontia devices can cause serious issues for your oral health.

When you order teeth straightening kits directly from a supplier, they require you to supply either the dental impression, or self-taken photographs of your teeth.

These patient-supplied impressions may be more likely to result in an improper fit of orthodontic appliances. This can cause your gum tissue to be impinged or stripped. It can also increase the chances of tooth loss or misalignment, and/or cause problems with your temporomandibular joint (TMJ), making chewing and other mouth movements very painful.

Orthodontia and orthodontic treatment should always be guided in-person by an experienced, licensed dental professional.

Plaque is a sticky film that can coat your teeth. It’s made out of food, saliva, and bacteria. When sugar or starches remain on your teeth, the bacteria present ingest that and create acids that eat into your tooth enamel, causing tooth decay. This decay creates holes in your teeth know as cavities.

When you come to Oakton Family Dentistry for your routine teeth cleaning and exam, it’s not just about how well you’ve brushed and flossed. Our licensed professionals look closely for tooth decay and gum disease too. We also check for changes in bone and ligament structure and check for signs of cancer in the oral cavity. Plus, we have the latest tools and techniques to safely and effectively address issues, from cleaning and tarter removal, to x-rays and scanning devices.

Both choices for brushing your teeth are good when used correctly for the full 2 minutes. However, if we have to give an answer—electrical toothbrushes win. Studies show that electric versions decrease more plaque and gingivitis than regular toothbrushes. Ask us about our professional recommendations for the right electric toothbrushes for your family.

You’re not alone. Some patients don’t have the dexterity for wrapping and using dental floss. That’s okay! We can recommend alternatives that get the job done, so that your at-home dental care in Fairfax keeps your smile healthy and strong.