Brushing your teeth properly can have major benefits for your oral health. You may brush your teeth twice a day every day without fail, but are you using the correct techniques and could you improve the way you brush to maximise the health benefits? Here are five terrific tooth brushing techniques to incorporate in your daily oral hygiene regime:

1. Use circular motions: when you brush your teeth, gently move the brush head in small circular motions. This helps to achieve a thorough clean.
2. Angle the head of the brush to 45 degrees: hold your brush at a 45 degree angle when you clean your teeth, as this helps to target the gum line and each individual surface of the tooth. It’s best to go for a brush with a small head, as these are easier to manoeuvre around the mouth, especially when you get into the corners.
3. Use short and gentle brush strokes: you may think that being firm and using large strokes is a good way to maximise the area covered by the brush and the quality of cleaning, however using wide strokes can damage the gum line and brushing firmly can wear away the enamel. Short, gentle brush strokes are much more effective. If you have an electric toothbrush, let the brush do all the hard work for you. Simply guide it around your mouth from tooth to tooth and don’t add any extra force.
4. Brush the outer surfaces, then the inner surfaces: when you clean your teeth, take care to devote equal time to each quadrant and develop a routine that ensures you clean every tooth. Start with the outer surfaces of the teeth and then move to the inner surfaces. Angle the head of the brush to allow you to clean the gum line.
5. Don’t forget to brush your tongue: most cases of bad breath are associated with bacteria at the back of the tongue and this tends to be a hot-bed for bacteria to multiply, so take time to brush your tongue using your normal toothbrush or a specially designed tongue cleaner. This will help to boost your general oral health as well as targeting bad breath.

If you need any help or advice with oral hygiene techniques, don’t hesitate to ask our dentists or dental hygienists.