Oral Hygiene 101: Have you been taking care of your teeth the right way?

Eating and speaking are mundane activities. But most of the time, people tend to neglect good practices of oral health care. If brushing your teeth is what you only do for your oral hygiene on a regular basis, you've been doing it wrong!

Oral hygiene is just as important as skin care. Moreover, oral hygiene includes not only our teeth but also our gums and tongue.

Dr. Marilou Pacubas, D.M.D, who has been practicing orthodontics and cosmetic dentistry for at least two decades, talks about the proper ways to take care of your teeth and mouth.

According to Dr. Pacubas, basic and complete oral care includes more than just brushing our pearly whites. She explains, “Two rinsing before you brush. Then after you brush, you spit and then you floss. And then scraping and massaging. Puro spitting lang 'yan. Ang rinsing mo sa huli.”

Gargling

Cleaning our oral cavity begins with gargling twice. Rinsing before brushing your teeth prevents the further spread of bacteria.

She says, “Gargling, kailangan mo mag-flush. Magmumog nang maraming beses bago mag-toothbrush. Dapat watery naman 'yung mouth mo 'pag nag-tooth brush ka."

Brushing

After gargling, the next step is brushing your teeth. While most do this on a daily basis, Dr. Pacubas stresses the fundamentals that others are still unaware of or neglect to practice.

It is important to find the correct brush for your mouth and teeth.

She suggests, “Dapat ang bilhin mong brush medium to soft. Bibili ka ng toothbrush na komportable ka 'pag nag-brush ka, hindi ganun ka-hard pero hindi ko sinasabing ganun ka-soft.

“May extra small, small, medium, large. Kasi maliit 'yun buka ng bibig natin, hindi tulad ng mga Caucasian. Hindi mo mari-reach 'yung very back teeth kaya gusto ko 'yung junior-sized,” she continues, adding that only a pea-sized amount of toothpaste must be used.

Dr. Pacubas also stresses that the correct direction when brushing is to go up and down.

She explains, “I strongly suggest you do up and down, and the last brush will be circular. Up and down will be for the bacteria of your teeth and the circular is for your gums.”

For Dr. Pacubas, it is also not necessary to brush before and after meals.

“I say do it really thoroughly in the evening and partially in the morning. If you will skip it at lunch time because of work restraints, that's alright as long as you really thoroughly clean it at night time which is brushing a minute, then scraping about half a minute, and then massaging of the gums, and then flossing,” she shares.

Flossing

Flossing is also a vital step in taking care of your oral health. It is also important to consult your dentist on the type of floss you may use.

Dr. Pacubas recommends, “Flossing should really be twice a day. Kahit nga hindi ka magsipilyo, basta sa akin, mag-floss ka lang, okay na ako. Kasi 'yung [in between teeth] 'yung i-a-access mo na i-clean mo talaga. Hindi 'yun naa-access ng brushing. “

Tongue scraping

An overlooked practice for oral hygiene is tongue scraping. Cleaning your tongue helps promote holistic oral health and must be done every night.

Dr. Pacubas explains, “Maraming kang plaque sa tongue. We use to brush it kasi 'yun ang tinuturo pero it's not brushing. Brushing is for teeth. Scraping is for the tongue.”

Massaging of the gums

Once you've taken care of your teeth and tongue, you should pay attention to the health of your gums. You can activate this by using your thumb and index fingers and massaging your gums towards the direction of the growth of your teeth.

Dr. Pacubas emphasizes, “Ang teeth nakatira siya sa gums so kailangan alagaan mo 'yung housing niya which is the gums and periodontal bone. Take care of the house of the teeth. Para 'yung gums mo will adapt towards the teeth, para makakapit siya, maggi-grip siya.

“Hindi kasi pwedeng hindi mo kini-clean 'yung tongue mo at 'yung gums mo. Kasi kahit gaano kaganda 'yung teeth mo 'pag nag-wobble 'yan at hindi mo inalagaan, maaalis 'yung maganda mong teeth,” she adds.

Just like tongue scraping, massaging of the gums must be done every night, too. Aside from tooth decay, the condition of your gums and tongue contributes to bad breath.

Dr. Pacubas states, “Gums and most of it is coming from the tongue, not from the teeth. It will cause [bad breath] if meron kang decay, don't get me wrong but the contribution is like a 50-50 thing. Brushing is 50 percent, scraping and massaging the gums is another 50 percent. You have to do a complementary [practice]. You brush, you scrape.”

Mouth wash

Gargling, brushing your teeth, flossing, tongue scraping and massaging of the gums are the basic steps that lead to a healthy oral cavity. However, it also helps if you rinse with a mouth wash.

Dr. Pacubas says, “Kahit once a day lang, in the morning. Basta walang alcohol, okay. Alcohol is not only safe for the teeth. When there's alcohol, there's dehydration. When you dehydrate, the more baceteria will produce but you feel clean. Ang bacteria 'pag anaerobic, gustong-gusto niya kasi nada-dry siya, wala siyang hangin, wala siyang oxygen. Mas lalo siyang nade-dehydrate, mas lalong dumadami bacteria.”

Visits to the dentist

If you need to be guided and educated further about your oral health, you can always consult your dentist.

Dr. Pacubas recommends visiting the dentist every four months if there's disease and every six months if there is none.