What steps do you take to make sure you protect your smile from tooth decay and gum disease? Brushing is certainly important; your regular visits to your dentist’s office for preventive care are valuable, too. To make sure that your smile is completely protected in between checkups, you should take the time to floss every evening. While brushing is effective at caring for your teeth and gums, you can leave spaces between teeth without proper protection if this is all that you do to manage your oral health on a daily basis. When you floss, you remove bacteria and food particles that become trapped between teeth. Our Rochester, MN dentist’s office can provide guidance so that you can consistently protect your smile between your regular reviews!
Why You Should Rely On More Than Just Brushing To Clean Your Smile
As important as it is to have a reliable and consistent brushing routine, you should regard this as just one of several actions to take in order to protect your smile. When you are not flossing, or when you only floss inconsistently, you lose out on protection for your teeth and gums because you leave the spaces between teeth less protected. The bristles of your brush are limited in how well they can clean these areas. If you let them go without the right support, tartar buildup and other problems can impact you.
Properly Flossing To Lower Your Risk For Cavities And Gum Disease
A good flossing routine removes harmful oral bacteria and food debris, which means you have less to worry about from dental decay, gum disease, and tartar buildup. Flossing once per evening will keep these areas where your teeth meet clean. Make sure that when you do take the time to floss, you clean thoroughly by moving the string in a vertical motion. This is important for your periodontal health, as it will help you remove harmful microbes that can move to your roots below these tissues and cause gingivitis.
What Else Should You Do To Protect Your Oral Health?
Both your at-home efforts and your regular dental exams protect you against different oral health threats. Even if you have total confidence in the care you provide yourself, you should see your dentist for a review and dental cleaning on a semiannual basis. At every appointment, you are given an important update about the state of your smile, and you receive a professional cleaning that can remove any tartar present on your teeth.
Your Rochester, MN Dentist Can Help You Keep Your Smile Healthy!
With our in-office care and guidance for at-home oral hygiene, our practice can help patients of all ages take great care of their teeth and gums! For more information, call Calcagno Cosmetic And Family Dentistry in Rochester, MN at (507) 281-3659.
