Using The Right Brushing Habits To Reduce Bad Breath

Bad breath is literally one of the worst traits that a person can have.  Halitosis, or extreme bad breath is a condition that can be brought on by a number of different things, but no matter the cause, it is not something that you want or something that will get you ahead in life.  If you are worried about your bad breath, you will want to focus on your oral health.  Part of this will include brushing and flossing your teeth regularly, but you will probably want to visit a dentist in Gig Harbor to see if you need any other treatment to get your mouth healthy again. 

One of the most important things that any dentist in Gig Harbor will tell you is that you need to brush your teeth regularly.  This is not only to keep cavities from forming, but also to keep your breath smelling fresh.  The bacteria in your mouth literally eat what you eat and the byproducts are what destroy your teeth and give you bed breath.  When you brush properly, you can remove a large percentage of these bacteria thus improving the smell and lessening your chance for cavities. 

Most people don’t actually know the proper way to brush their teeth because they have never been taught the technique.  This can be fixed by following a few simple rules.  The first rule of brushing your teeth is to use a clock to time yourself.  Most people think that they are brushing for a few minutes when the actual time is less than one minute.  To avoid this, use a stopwatch or a timer to make sure that you are brushing for at least 2 minutes.  2 minutes will give you a perfect amount of time to brush each quadrant of your mouth for 30 seconds. 

Another important tip that a dentist in Gig Harbor will give you about brushing is to make sure that you are not brushing too hard.  When you brush your teeth extremely hard you are causing damage to the teeth and to your gums.  This can end up causing recession around your teeth, which will cost thousands of dollars to fix.