Brushing Your Teeth - Dental Discipline Tips

By C. Burdick

Your Careington dentist probably told you to brush your teeth twice a day at home. If using your toothbrush seems like a chore, then you may need to develop realistic dental expectations about how to best brush your teeth consistently at home.

Most people find it difficult to maintain consistent personal discipline in their basic health and dental habits – it is almost impossible to be naturally self-disciplined, especially in trying to brush your teeth like the dentist. Therefore, it is important to set realistic goals based on your morning and nighttime routines – make the choice to brush even when you don't feel like it!

Read on for a quick examination of the recommended dental methods needed to clean your teeth like the dentist.

3 Key Methods for Brushing Your Teeth

1. Circular Motion

In this method, use a circular motion on all surface areas of your front and back teeth when you brush your teeth.

2. Horizontal Scrubbing

This method recommends brushing with side-to-side horizontal scrubbing motions on all front and back tooth surfaces.

3. Horizontal Scrubbing with a “Vertical Pass”

This method is a version of the previous technique that also recommends brushing the whole mouth horizontally except for the back side of your front teeth, which are brushed with a vertical up-and-down motion.

Conclusion

Perhaps all of these dental methods used in conjunction could be the most thorough brushing technique. Sound contradictory? To combine these methods, you may want to start your brushing with the horizontal technique, then continue with the circular technique and finally throw in a full vertical pass! It is better to brush too much than too little – so be sure to brush thoroughly and frequently!

Because your teeth will suffer if you do not brush them often or at all, whichever brushing method you choose can be effective in protecting your teeth. Though it may be true that if you brush one way and not another, you may not get the best teeth cleaning that you could, still all successful brushing habits begin with consistency and increased brushing frequency.

However you choose to care for your teeth, be sure to do your best! Anticipate a natural tendency to fall away from brushing discipline rather than to fall into it – but you can truly increase your personal discipline (and dental health) by being intentional in the frequency and thoroughness of brushing your teeth.