Oral Hygiene

It’s important to brush and floss every day to protect your oral health. When you brush your teeth, you should also brush your tongue! There are many benefits to cleaning your tongue daily. Here are the main ones:

Removes Harmful Bacteria

Your tongue has a bumpy, porous surface that attracts both good and bad bacteria. If you neglect to brush your tongue, harmful bacteria can spread to your teeth and gums. Add daily tongue-brushing to your oral hygiene routine to help reduce your risk of developing cavities and gum disease. If it is hard to brush without gagging, stay consistent! You can train your gag reflex to be less sensitive with practice. Additionally, our team can provide personalized tips at your next checkup.

Improves Your Breath

The bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease produce strong odors. When you brush your tongue, you’re cleaning off the odor agents and making your mouth a cleaner, better-smelling place. If you are brushing your tongue every day and still struggle with chronic bad breath, schedule a visit to your dentist. You could be dealing with a problem, like gum disease or tooth decay, or another underlying health condition.

Prevents Problems Like Thrush

If you don’t brush your tongue, the yeast in your mouth can build up and result in an infection called oral thrush. Symptoms include a white film or blotches on your tongue, burning in your mouth, and a loss of taste. Oral thrush is typically treated with antifungal medication. But brushing your tongue daily can help prevent it from occurring.

We Can Help You Maintain Great Oral Health!

Brushing your tongue is a critical part of your daily oral hygiene routine. Professional cleanings and exams at the dentist every six months are also essential to help you avoid cavities, gum disease, and other issues. Hermitage Dental Group in Hermitage, TN, is proud to offer comprehensive dental services, like preventive dentistry, restorative dentistry, orthodontics, treatment for sleep apnea and temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and more. Please contact us today if you have any questions or want to book an appointment!

If you’ve ever considered switching from traditional string floss to a water flosser, this is the article for you. In today’s blog post, we’re talking about the benefits of both methods, helping you to decide which one will be right for you.

Water Flossing

Water flossers are electronic devices that pump water into the mouth via a pressurized stream. That pressure is powerful enough to actually floss between your teeth! When using a water flosser, you have control over that pressure, as well as its pattern. You simply maneuver the device to clean between the teeth and gums. This allows you to stimulate the gum tissue and remove the bacteria that builds up between the teeth and under the gums.

Studies have shown that water flossers work just as well as, if not better than, traditional floss. Water flossers can be very helpful in accessing and cleaning hard-to-reach areas, especially for patients with braces and limited mobility. Water flossers can also help improve blood flow to the gums, which is important for your oral tissue to receive the nutrients it needs.

Traditional Floss

While water flossers have clear and undeniable benefits, that doesn’t mean that traditional floss doesn’t have its merits! String floss is the tried and true method for cleaning between the teeth, and it comes with a number of great benefits. Traditional floss can’t be beat for its portability and affordability. String floss is easy to use and you can do it just about anywhere.

Preventive Care in Hermitage, TN

Choose the flossing method, or combination, that you feel is right for you. We just want you to be flossing every single day to remove plaque and food debris from between your teeth and from under your gums. At your routine checkup, we’ll examine the health of your gums and let you know if we think you need to change your flossing technique or floss more frequently.

If your gums bleed when you floss, keep flossing and brushing your teeth every day! You likely need to improve your oral hygiene. If the bleeding persists, please notify our team!

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