{"id":16,"date":"2015-11-30T16:38:35","date_gmt":"2015-11-30T16:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.waterburysmiles.com\/?p=16"},"modified":"2015-11-30T16:38:35","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T16:38:35","slug":"family-dentist-waterbury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/family-dentist-waterbury\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Brushing and Flossing from Your Family Dentist Waterbury"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-17\" style=\"margin: 10px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ThinkstockPhotos-86540770-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"father and daughter brushing teeth thanks to tips from the family dentist waterbury trusts\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ThinkstockPhotos-86540770-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ThinkstockPhotos-86540770.jpg 338w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>When it comes to taking care of smiles, the Waterbury Smiles dentists and team love getting to see patients twice a year for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/general-family-dentistry.html\">checkups and teeth cleanings<\/a>, but without thorough, effective at-home hygiene, patients are unable to achieve and maintain optimal oral health. While most people know the basics (brush twice a day and floss once), there are a few key changes that can take any at-home hygiene routine from adequate to awesome.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Tooth Brushing Techniques<\/h3>\n<p>Keep in mind the following tips and tricks to maximize the effectiveness of tooth brushing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The 30 minute rule \u2013 Many people know they shouldn\u2019t eat or drink for 30 minutes after brushing. This allows fluoride in toothpaste to fully absorb, but what many patients don\u2019t know is the same rule applies to brushing after meals. Directly following eating or drinking, the enamel is weakened and easier to damage. It\u2019s great to brush between meals, but always wait at least 30 minutes or consider using an antimicrobial mouth rinse instead.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t rinse \u2013 After brushing, most people rinse their mouths out with water. Doing this removes fluoride from teeth minimizing effectiveness. If your teeth feel filmy or your mouth feels sticky without rinsing, reduce the amount of toothpaste you use.<\/li>\n<li>2 minutes matters \u2013 It\u2019s essential that patients brush for at least 2 minutes at a time. This is the minimum amount of time it takes to clean each tooth thoroughly enough to remove plaque. Try setting a timer or listening to a song while you brush to make it easier to keep track of the time.<\/li>\n<li>Clean systematically \u2013 The biggest mistake patients make while brushing is cleaning at random. Even if you clean randomly for two or more minutes, you\u2019re likely to miss something. We recommend developing a systematic plan for cleaning every surface of every tooth. Work from front to back, top to bottom, or split your teeth into quadrants. Whatever works to help you clean the inside, outside, and biting surface of every tooth each time you brush.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Flossing Fundamentals<\/h3>\n<p>Many patients dread flossing, and hate the question, \u201cHow often do you floss?\u201d Flossing is an essential part of any oral hygiene routine. Floss removes plaque and bacteria that brushing alone cannot reach, and is the best way to prevent periodontal (gum) disease, the most prevalent oral health concern among US adults and leading cause of tooth loss. Some flossing tips to remember include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Choose a floss that you like (waxed, flavored, single-strand). If you like it, you\u2019re more likely to keep up the habit.<\/li>\n<li>Be consistent. Flossing doesn\u2019t have the same instant gratification patients get from brushing, but the long-term oral health effects are dramatic.<\/li>\n<li>Floss below the gum line on both sides of every tooth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Find out more from the Dentist 06708 Relies on \u2013 Waterbury Smiles<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re interested in learning more about at-home oral hygiene or ready to schedule an appointment, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/contact-us.html\">contact<\/a> Waterbury Smiles. Our skilled dental team can\u2019t wait to help you smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to taking care of smiles, the Waterbury Smiles dentists and team love getting to see patients twice a year for checkups and teeth cleanings, but without thorough, effective at-home hygiene, patients are unable to achieve and maintain optimal oral health. While most people know the basics (brush twice a day and floss [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[27,28,29,30,31,32,42,57,58],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-dentistry","tag-family-dentist","tag-family-dentist-waterbury","tag-family-dentistry","tag-family-dentistry-waterbury","tag-general-dentist","tag-general-dentistry","tag-oral-hygiene","tag-waterbury-family-dentist","tag-waterbury-family-dentistry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Guide to Brushing and Flossing from Your Family Dentist Waterbury - Waterbury Smiles Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The family dentist Waterbury residents rely on for picture-perfect smiles, shares guidelines for proper brushing and flossing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/family-dentist-waterbury\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Guide to Brushing and Flossing from Your Family Dentist Waterbury - Waterbury Smiles Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The family dentist Waterbury residents rely on for picture-perfect smiles, shares guidelines for proper brushing and flossing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/family-dentist-waterbury\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Waterbury Smiles Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-11-30T16:38:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ThinkstockPhotos-86540770-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"drmarini\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"drmarini\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/family-dentist-waterbury\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/family-dentist-waterbury\/\",\"name\":\"A Guide to Brushing and Flossing from Your Family Dentist Waterbury - 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