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Oral Hygiene

I have been a patient of Dr. Moss for over 20 years. The office staff is wonderful, this office is definitely a family oriented place; they make me and my family feel right at home. Keep up the great work! -Marie

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Oral Hygiene

Regular visits to Dr. Moss and his hygiene department ensure both proper preventative care and routine hygiene, allowing you to maintain the good oral health that is necessary for your overall well-being and systemic health. Our superior diagnostics equipment and materials detect any changes to your teeth, tissues, or bone, including cracks, decay, gum disease, or the breakdown of dental restorations. Educating our patients on effective hygiene is the heart of our practice.

Contact us in our Lafayette office today to discover how to improve your health through proper oral hygiene.

How to Clean Your Teeth

Frequent and proper brushing and flossing, along with your regular professional dental cleaning, will help reduce and remove plaque- a contributing factor to tooth decay and gum disease. Plaque is a soft, sticky, colorless bacterial film that grows on the hard surfaces of teeth. These bacteria use the sugar and starch from food particles in the mouth to produce acid. Left to accumulate, this acid produces foul breath, destroys the outer enamel of the tooth, and irritates gums to the point of bleeding.

Brushing Instructions

Brush your teeth at least twice a day, but preferably after every meal. You should use a soft bristled toothbrush or electric toothbrush, and replace it every 3-4 months or as soon as the bristles begin to fray.

  1. Start by choosing your toothpaste carefully, ensuring that you buy one that contains fluoride.
  2. Place a pea-sized amount on your toothbrush.
  3. Use gentle, circular, short strokes (about the width of a tooth) against the teeth and gums.
  4. For the outer tooth surfaces, place the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle toward the gum line.
  5. To clean the chewing and inner tooth surfaces use a gentle back and forth motion.
  6. To clean the inner front tooth surfaces hold the brush upright and use gentle up and down strokes with the tip of the brush.
  7. Don’t forget to brush along the gum line. Do not brush too vigorously as this may cause damage to the gum tissue.
  8. It is recommended that you spend two minutes each time you brush your teeth. You should spend 30 seconds brushing each section of your mouth (upper right, upper left, lower right, lower left).
  9. The tongue should also be brushed using a back-to-front sweeping motion to remove any food particles and bacteria that may sour the breath.
  10. Thoroughly rinse the toothbrush to remove debris and toothpaste. Do not routinely store your toothbrush in a closed container, as the moist environment is more conducive than the open air to the growth of microorganisms.

Flossing Instructions

A good flossing routine and technique is essential for oral health. Flossing once a day helps prevent gum disease by stimulating your gums and removing food particles and plaque. It allows you to reach areas that your toothbrush cannot, especially those spaces at and below the gum line which can also result in tooth decay. If you don’t floss you’re leaving up to forty percent of your tooth surface untouched and unclean.

  1. Cut off a section of floss between 18 and 24 inches. Wrap the ends of the piece around your middle fingers.
  2. Hold the floss between your thumbs and forefingers. Leave about one inch of floss between your hands.
  3. Gently work the floss between your teeth. Be careful never to “snap” the floss into the gum tissue.
  4. When you reach the gum line, curve the floss into a “C” shape around the tooth. Make sure to go below the gum line on the tooth.
  5. Gently glide the floss up and down several times between each tooth, including your back teeth. Apply pressure against the tooth while flossing. Unwind a new section of floss after every tooth.
  6. Once you have completed flossing all of your teeth, rinse vigorously with an antiseptic oral rinse. This will wash away any food matter that was loosened but not removed.

 

Related Oral Hygiene Articles

Oral Hygiene - Dear Doctor Magazine Oral Hygiene – Dental Health for Life
The best tools for maintaining your oral health and minimizing dental problems are a quality toothbrush, toothpaste, a roll of dental floss, approved mouthwash and good diet. Unfortunately, myths and folklore abound on how and what to use to best effect. This article cuts through the confusion with a winning game plan for oral health… Read Article

 

Oral Hygiene - Dear Doctor Magazine Dental Hygiene Visit
Each dental hygiene visit begins by reviewing your health history to identify issues that may necessitate special precautions during dental hygiene care to ensure your safety and to prevent medical emergencies… Read Article

 

Flossing - Dear Doctor Magazine Flossing – A Different Approach
Flossing is important but challenging for some – this approach may make your life easier! Research suggests that while most people will habitually brush their teeth, developing a flossing habit is still a bit more difficult. Flossing however, remains the best method for most effectively removing plaque from between the teeth where the brush won’t reach… Read Article