What Is Good Oral Hygiene

Good oral hygiene results in a mouth that looks and smells healthy.




This means:
• Your teeth are clean and free of debris
Gums are pink and do not hurt or bleed when you brush or floss

• Bad breath is not a constant problem

If your gums do hurt or bleed while brushing or flossing, or you are experiencing persistent bad breath, see your dentist. Any of these conditions may indicate a problem.

Your dentist or hygienist can help you learn good oral hygiene techniques and can help point out areas of your mouth that may require extra attention during brushing and flossing.

How Is Good Oral Hygiene Practiced?

Maintaining good oral hygiene is one of the most important things you can do for your teeth and gums. Healthy teeth not only enable you to look and feel good, they make it possible to eat and speak properly. Good oral health is important to your overall well-being.

Daily preventive care, including proper brushing and flossing, will help stop problems before they develop and is much less painful, expensive, and worrisome than treating conditions that have been allowed to progress.

In between regular visits to the dentist, there are simple steps that each of us can take to greatly decrease the risk of developing tooth decay, gum disease and other dental problems. These include:

• Brushing thoroughly twice a day and flossing daily

• Eating a balanced diet and limiting snacks between meals

• Using dental products that contain fluoride, including toothpaste

• Rinsing with a fluoride mouthrinse if your dentist tells you to

• Making sure that your children under 12 drink fluoridated water or take a fluoride supplement if they live in a non-fluoridated area.

• Crown: the top part of the tooth, and the only part you can normally see. The shape of the crown determines the tooth's function. For example, front teeth are sharp and chisel-shaped for cutting, while molars have flat surfaces for grinding.

• Gumline: where the tooth and the gums meet. Without proper brushing and flossing, plaque and tartar can build up at the gumline, leading to gingivitis and gum disease.

• Root: the part of the tooth that is embedded in bone. The root makes up about two-thirds of the tooth and holds the tooth in place.

• Enamel: the outermost layer of the tooth. Enamel is the hardest, most mineralized tissue in the body - yet it can be damaged by decay if teeth are not cared for properly.

• Dentin: the layer of the tooth under the enamel. If decay is able to progress its way through the enamel, it next attacks the dentin - where millions of tiny tubes lead directly to the dental pulp.

• Pulp: the soft tissue found in the center of all teeth, where the nerve tissue and blood vessels are. If tooth decay reaches the pulp, you usually feel pain.

If your gums do hurt or bleed while brushing or flossing, or you are experiencing persistent bad breath, see your dentist. Any of these conditions may indicate a problem.


What Are the Different Types of Teeth?

Every tooth has a specific job or function (Use the dental arch in this section to locate and identify each type of tooth):

• Incisors: the sharp, chisel-shaped front teeth (four upper, four lower) used for cutting food.

• Canines: sometimes called cuspids, these teeth are shaped like points (or cusps) and are used for tearing food.

• Premolars: these teeth have two pointed cusps on their biting surface and are sometimes referred to as bicuspids. The premolars are for crushing and tearing.

• Molars: used for grinding, these teeth have several cusps on the biting surface.