Everyone knows that you’re supposed to brush your teeth at least twice a day, right? Well, while brushing your teeth is important, there’s a lot more going on in your mouth than just teeth. To have the cleanest and healthiest mouth possible, here a few other parts of your mouth that you should be brushing.
Why Do We Brush in the First Place?
To understand why you should be brushing more than just your teeth, we should explore why we brush in the first place.
There are bacteria in everyone’s mouths. And while it might sound a bit icky, it isn’t, it’s a very natural part of the human body. Everyone has bacteria in their mouth and it’s totally normal.
But while they’re a normal part of our mouths, these bacteria aren’t necessarily always friendly. They feed on leftover food particles and excrete an acidic discharge in the mouth. This discharge can weaken the enamel on your teeth, causing cavities, tooth decay, and swollen and bleeding gums.
Brushing, flossing, and rinsing remove the food particles that these bacteria feed on, which is why brushing, flossing, and rinsing on a regular basis is so important to maintaining a healthy mouth and beautiful smile!
Your Mouth Contains More Than Just Teeth
Go to a mirror and have a look inside your mouth. You’ll see a lot more than teeth: you’ll see a tongue, gums, the insides of your cheeks, the top of your mouth, and that spot beneath your tongue.
These are all places where food particles – and those pesky acid-producing bacteria that are looking for something to munch on – can hide.
As part of your “teeth brushing” routine, we recommend brushing more than just your teeth. We recommend:
- Brushing the fronts, backs, sides, and tops of every tooth. Use circular brushing motions and not a scrubbing “back and forth” motion to avoid forming grooves in your teeth enamel.
- Brush the insides of your cheeks on both sides of your mouth, from the very top of your top jaw all the way down to the very bottom of your bottom jaw.
- Brush the top of your mouth from the back of your front top teeth all the way back as far as you can manage.
- Brush the top, sides and bottom of your tongue, as far back as you can manage. Be careful not to brush too far back on the top of your tongue as this might cause you to retch, and that’s not fun.
- Brush the floor of your mouth back to and beside your tongue.
- Brush the insides of your lips.
Once you’ve fully brushed the entire inside of your mouth you should floss and rinse thoroughly so that all the food particles you’ve just loosened up are rinsed out of the mouth.
Orion Dental provides a full range of dental services for the whole family. We help our patients keep their mouths healthy and their smiles beautiful through regular checkups, children’s dentistry, cosmetic dentistry and teeth whitening. If you’re looking for a dentist in Milton or Scarborough that will take care of your entire family, Orion Dental is for you! Call our Milton dentist office at (905) 636–9770 or our Scarborough dental office at (416) 291–0306 to book an appointment and let’s get started!
