Dr-Michael-Krochak

Hi.

My name is Dr. Michael Krochak, Co-Founder at the NYC Smile Spa, and this is my dental blog! I document the latest trends in dentistry and oral health and hygiene!

Brushing and Flossing Tips

Brushing and Flossing Tips

Toothbrush and Flossing Tips

There has been a tremendous amount of medical research showing that proper oral hygiene and keeping your gum inflammation down can add 8-10 years to your life! I will explain this in my next blog ,so for now let’s review brushing and flossing tips to keep your mouth healthy and comfortable.

 I strongly prefer electric toothbrushes over manual. The Braun Oral B -IO brush is my favorite (smaller head gets into areas better) but the Phillips Sonicare is ok as well. They have been shown to remove plaque more effectively. Either way, the key is to position the brush at a 45 degree angle down at the gumline so the bristles go under the gums. The gums are not attached at the gumline. There is a sulcus or trough where the plaque bacteria start and work their way up onto the teeth. If not cleaned well, these areas become deeper and form “pockets” which is the first stage of periodontal disease.

 If manual brushing, brush gently in a horizontal fashion on a few teeth at a time both on the outside (lips and cheek) and the inside (tongue and palate).

If using the electric brush do NOT manually brush horizontally.  Let the electronic bristles do the brushing and simply move the brush along horizontally without scrubbing and causing undue excess forces causing gum and tooth erosion. Think of it as if you are simply “painting” along the gumline with the brush.

 There are 3 very common mistakes made with flossing so these three tips will make flossing so much easier and more effective. The idea is to get the floss under the gumline where the plaque starts and is heaviest. Mistake #1 is wrapping the floss around your index fingers. The index fingers have the most dexterity so free them up and wrap the floss around your middle fingers!

 Mistake #2 is to grab a large piece of floss the size of your hand! You want to only grab a small piece slightly larger than the width on one tooth! This way it doesn’t run into your lips, cheeks etc and allows you to control it better. You should position your fingers right next to the tooth, one on the outside, one on the inside.  Mistake three is to see saw the floss down to the gumline and stop.

Yes, see saw it to get past the contact point but when you get to the gunline, then curve the floss into a C shape in TWO different directions so that the floss slips easily under the gum into the sulcus. So curve it towards the middle or front of your mouth first, then again towards the back of your mouth and you will notice that you are cleaning two separate teeth. Gently, rub up and down under the gumline on the front of one tooth, then the back of the tooth next to it. If you don’t have the dexterity to handle th floss, you can still do this properly with those plastic floss holders.

 Here is a link to a video demonstrating all of this.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k72zuzfbfR4

 Here’s to your dental and medical health.

 For more information, you can contact Dr. Michael Krochak at

drk@nycsmilespa.com

NYC Smile Spa

30 E. 60th St., Rm 1201

New York, NY 10022

(212) 838-2900

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