What is National Dental Hygiene Month All About?

National Dental Hygiene Month

Did you know October is “National Dental Hygiene Month?” It is honor of dental hygienists who help every dental office stay on top of everything while working with you, your family members, and everyone else who walks through the door. It’s also designed to help bring awareness to the importance of dental hygiene and the necessary dental hygiene techniques you should be utilizing every single day. Here are just a few of the oral hygiene techniques you need to stay on top of.

Brushing Your Teeth

You already know you need to brush your teeth twice a day, but are you doing it correctly? First, you should never brush back and forth. This pushes debris in between your teeth, making it difficult to remove everything. Instead, you need to have your toothbrush tilted at a 45 degree angle towards the gyms and move in either a downward or circular motion. You should also be brushing for at least two minutes every single day. You may be surprised as to just how little time you’re actually spending brushing your teeth. It takes time to reach every corner of your mouth, so take the effort to brush your teeth correctly.

Flossing

Ideally, you should floss your teeth before every time you brush your teeth, but we know this isn’t always an option. That is exactly why you need to floss your teeth at least once a day. By flossing your teeth at least once a day you’ll help remove the food and bacteria that has built up between your teeth in between flossing and brushing.

See Your Dentist

An important step in protecting your teeth is seeing your dentist on a regular basis. You should go in for a dental cleaning at least once every six months. Even if you brush and floss as you should there is a chance you’re missing an area. This can result in a build-up of plaque, which may lead to gingivitis and gum disease. Seeing your dentist can catch these problems.

Keeping up with your dental hygiene is essential, not only for a healthy, happy mouth, but to help prevent disease and illness in other areas of the body as well. If you’re coming up on your six-month cleaning, or if you’re on the market for a new dentist, now is the perfect time to book. So feel free to reach out and contact Shoreline Dental Studio today!