At Top Down Dental, we believe that good oral health is an essential foundation for your overall health and quality of life. Maintaining good oral health starts with having a good oral hygiene routine. Here are some of our oral hygiene recommendations to help our patients maintain their oral health.

Brush Teeth Twice Daily

We recommend that our patients brush their teeth twice a day for at least two minutes. Doing so has been shown to reduce your risk of cavities and gum disease compared with brushing your teeth less frequently. Furthermore, taking such preventive measures reduces your risk of receding gums and serious gum disease (periodontitis), which, in turn, limits the likelihood of tooth loss. 

Science research also indicates that brushing your teeth for at least two minutes reduces plaque significantly more than brushing for shorter periods. It’s a good idea to break toothbrushing down into 30 seconds per quadrant (lower left, lower right, upper left, upper right) to help ensure you get every surface of your teeth. A timer can help you ensure you’re spending enough time on each quadrant, something that’s included in many electric toothbrushes. 

Holding your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your teeth can help you clear plaque from your gum line. 

Also, remember that people tend to do a poorer job cleaning the surfaces of their teeth closest to the tongue (what we call the lingual side), so give some extra emphasis to brushing inside the arch of your teeth.

Floss Daily Using the Proper Technique

To get the best benefit from flossing your teeth, you should learn and practice the proper flossing technique. Here are our recommendations:

  • Wash Your Hands: The goal is to clean your teeth, which is not aided by putting dirty hands in your mouth. Washing your hands before brushing and flossing can help you get your teeth cleaner. 
  • Use Enough Floss: Don’t be stingy with your dental floss. Get about 18 inches of floss, enough to wrap around your fingers several times, and still have space to slide between your teeth. Even if you buy relatively expensive name-brand floss, this is about a nickel’s worth each day–your teeth are worth it!
  • Work the floss gently: Don’t force dental floss between teeth. Use a zig-zagging motion to work the floss into the space. 
  • Wrap around the Tooth: Once you’ve got the floss into the space, clean each tooth by wrapping it in a “c” shape around one tooth and then the other before moving on to the next space.

Learning to floss correctly can take time. If you’re having trouble, our hygienist can demonstrate the proper technique and give refreshers as necessary.

Don’t Assume Mouthwash Will Help

If you watch mouthwash commercials, you’ll see they promise tremendous benefits from using their product. Some have even claimed that it can take the place of flossing. This isn’t true: there is little to no evidence that everyone will benefit from mouthwash. 

Ask Dr. Nancy Nehawandian if mouthwash is right for you. She will let you know if you will likely benefit from this oral hygiene step and, if so, what the best mouthwash for you is.

Pay Attention to Your Diet

The foods you eat will significantly impact your oral health, so it’s essential to consider them when considering oral hygiene. Think of your mouth as an ecosystem that depends on outside inputs. The foods you eat will favor certain types of oral bacteria. If, for example, you eat many foods with excess free sugars, you will favor oral bacteria that are harmful to your teeth and gums. 

Some people consider using probiotics to influence their oral health. We can discuss This complicated topic in person concerning your individual oral health needs and concerns.

Make Regular Dental Appointments

Regular dental appointments are an essential part of maintaining good oral hygiene. Regular dental appointments will protect your oral health by:

  • Assessing your home hygiene routine
  • Complementing home hygiene with additional cleaning steps
  • Detecting problems early

During your dental appointment, we will clean your teeth. This will allow us to see the places you are doing a good job of cleaning–and those you’re missing. We’ll let you know what areas will need additional attention at home. We can also demonstrate proper cleaning techniques (such as brushing and flossing) to help you clean more effectively. 

We’ll perform additional procedures to clean your teeth. We’ll remove tartar from your teeth. Tartar forms when plaque absorbs minerals from your saliva to become a hard, almost rock-like deposit. We’ll also polish your teeth. This helps them look their brilliant best and makes it harder for oral bacteria to cling to your teeth. This can slow plaque formation and protect your teeth in the future. 

Finally, during your appointment, we will check your teeth for the first signs of gum disease and tooth decay. If we detect these problems early enough, you can treat them by changing your hygiene routine. 

We’ll Be Your Oral Hygiene Partner

Maintaining good oral health is a team effort. At Top Down Dental, we’re happy to work with you to protect and improve your oral health and establish and maintain a good foundation for overall health. 

To explore how we can help you achieve optimal oral and overall health, please call (408) 354-5600. Our dental office in Los Gatos serves the entire San Jose area.