How do you brush?

Brushing Patterns

Have you ever noticed that when you brush your teeth that you typically start in the same place each time?  Or, are you like many, and are on auto pilot while you brush and perhaps also get other things done like tidy the house, make the bed etc?
I am typically tickled when people tell me they have honestly no idea how they actually brush.  However, if you give them a toothbrush and ask them to demonstrate their technique, they usually go to the same exact spot.  The upper left outside for the right handed folk, and the upper right outside for the left handed folk.  This isn’t a bad or good place to start, but it just seems funny that most people actually start there.  So much of our habits stem from childhood, it makes me curious who actually started this trend of brushing, and why it has remained so popular for the general public.

A Few Tips That Will Help You to Be Really Effective with Your Toothbrush

• Typically, most people “build up” plaque and tarter on the tongue side (inside) of the lower teeth, if you want to be really effective with your toothbrush, you may find it beneficial to start there.  It also means that when you are rushing to finish up, you have at least gotten the hardest area first
• Also, “dry brushing” with either a dry tooth brush or one wet with water only can really help you access the areas that tend to be the site for build up, especially the lower front inside area.
• Lastly, holding your toothbrush with a Vulcan death grip will not get the plaque off any quicker or easier, honestly the only thing that it will do is perhaps brush the tooth or gum away.  Try holding your toothbrush as if it were a paintbrush and go easy on the strokes.  Plaque is soft, gum stimulation is softer and no matter how hard you try, you will not take out your aggression from yesterday’s frustration with your brush, for that you need to roll around with your little one on the ground, take a walk outside or go to a gym and punch a bag.  Those tend to be my personal favorites.

The Truth About Oral “Health”

In reality, oral health isn’t that difficult to achieve and maintain, we are just conditioned in using the same products, tools and techniques that are not the most effective.  The good news is that there is someone who helps you overhaul your routine.  That someone is an oral health coach.  Working with an oral health coach helps you to learn how to effectively become your own daily hygienist and use dental visits for exams, screenings and a big pat on the back for doing such a good job at home.
So take a look when you brush, where do you start?  I dare you to pick up a tool near you and pretend to brush and tell me where you started. Leave a comment and let’s see how many people brush in different ways.

Article via http://blog.naturalgumption.com/2013/04/a-brushing-technique-thatll-save-you-time-and-money/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NaturalGumption+%28Natural+Gumption%29