“I’d prefer someone to brush their teeth well once a day, rather than hastily twice a day (Image: Getty Images)
A dentist has revealed the common mistakes people make when brushing their teeth, as it turns out most people have probably been doing it all wrong.
From not wetting your toothbrush to starting at the back and focusing on quality over quantity (yes, brushing just once a day properly is better than twice poorly!), Dr Sahil Patel, Cosmetic Dentist & Founder of Marylebone Smile Clinic, shares the habits to avoid for optimal dental health.
His first tip is to never skip the nightly brush – lots of people only brush their teeth once a day, and he warns: if you’re going to skip a brushing session, make it the morning one, not the evening.
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While we sleep, saliva production decreases allowing food particles from the day to linger and cause problems faster. He also recommends focusing on quality, nor quantity, saying: “I’d prefer someone to brush their teeth well once a day, rather than hastily twice a day. Problems arise when we consistently miss certain areas, so it’s better to brush thoroughly once than poorly twice.”
Wetting your toothbrush before putting the toothpaste on it makes it dilute, which causes it to foam faster, and, in turn, makes you finish brushing your teeth quicker. Store-bought toothpaste has the appropriate amount of moisture to work without added water, highlights Dr Patel.
As for technique, he suggests “starting your brushing at the back of your mouth, which is often the hardest part to clean.” He explains: “If you start at the front and leave the back until last, you’re more likely to stop prematurely, neglecting the back or not cleaning it thoroughly.”
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Another good habit is to not be forceful with your brush, instead gripping it with just the right force to make it slide straight against your teeth. He says: “If the bristles splay against the tooth, they’re not doing an effective job.”
On instruments, Dr Patel favours interdental brushes over dental floss. The tiny bristles that clean between your teeth are designed to reach tricky corners and spots that neither a toothbrush nor floss can. It also helps that they come in various shapes and sizes for a perfect fit.
Finally, he warns that no matter how thorough you are with your dental hygiene, no home clean will ever match the quality of a dentist’s, as they utilise finer tools and an ultra sonic frequency against the tooth to remove stubborn plaque that a toothbrush can’t.
“Tooth brushing is excellent but doesn’t reach everywhere, it covers about 90% of areas, the remaining 10% is handled by the hygienist or dentist – which is why you can’t mimic the clean a dental professional provides”, he says.