Oral Hygiene Basics El Dorado Hills, CA

At Scott Dexter, DDS, we help patients throughout El Dorado Hills to stay in excellent oral health. With a focus on preventative care, we take the time to get to know each of our patients, creating a plan for lifelong oral health. With only one set of permanent adult teeth, it is important to care for them and be proactive in taking the steps to prevent cavities, infections, and gum disease. We recommend that you visit our dental office for a teeth cleaning twice a year so that we can remove plaque buildup and tartar, keeping your mouth healthy and clean. To schedule an appointment, call (916) 233-0910. In the meantime, here are steps that you can take at home to keep your mouth healthy.

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.

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:

• Brush thoroughly twice a day and floss daily
• Eat a balanced diet and limit snacks between meals
• Use dental products that contain fluoride, including toothpaste
• Rinse with a fluoride mouth rinse if your dentist advises you to
• Make sure that your children under 12 drink fluoridated water or take a fluoride supplement if they live in an area with low water fluoride concentrations

How to brush your teeth properly
As a El Dorado Hills dentist, we know that how you brush your teeth is just as important as how often you brush them. It is important that you use a soft toothbrush that will not irritate your gums or cause the enamel on your teeth to erode. Many people make the mistake of thinking that a hard toothbrush is necessary for keeping teeth clean, but this is not the case. As long as you brush correctly a soft toothbrush will work equally well without damaging your teeth. Be sure to brush your teeth in a circular pattern, starting at the gum line and working your way towards the center of your mouth. This will move food particles, bacteria, and plaque away from your gum line. Brush your teeth in quadrants and be sure to brush each section for at least thirty seconds. While brushing you should apply even pressure but not be too aggressive. You should also use fluoride toothpaste since this will provide additional protection from cavities. We recommend that you brush three times a day – morning, after lunch, and before bed. This will keep your mouth clean without causing irritation from over-brushing. Additionally, be sure to buy a new toothbrush every three months or sooner if your bristles are frayed or your toothbrush is stained or smelling.

Flossing is essential for your teeth and gums
At Scott Dexter, DDS, we remind our patients that it is critical to floss on a daily basis. If you live in the El Dorado Hills area and have not been to the dentist lately, we invite you to schedule an appointment so that we can clean your teeth and remove the plaque and bacteria from hard to reach places. Afterward, it is up to you to floss on a daily basis to remove food particles and plaque from in between your teeth. If they remain in place, you can develop gum disease which is both uncomfortable and dangerous to your oral and overall health. Gum disease occurs when plaque forms underneath the gum line and not flossing can lead to this. If you do not particularly enjoy flossing, buy a plastic flossing tool that you can hold and throw away once done. This makes it easier to get the job done.

Selecting the right mouthwash
When you use mouthwash, it is important to be sure that it is sugar-free. We also recommend using mouthwash that contains fluoride since this will help to kill any lingering bacteria while strengthening your teeth. Carry a bottle of mouthwash with you and rinse your mouth with it after meals, drinking a soda, or consuming coffee. As a El Dorado Hills, CA dentist office, we understand that it is difficult to brush more than a couple of times per day. Rinsing your mouth, however, is relatively easy, and everyone has time for it. Taking this simple step can help to reduce your risk of cavities and gum disease.

How to prevent tooth decay
Our team prevents tooth decay every day by helping our patients to have clean and healthy teeth. Tooth decay starts when plaque is left on the teeth, and the acid inside of it starts to eat away at the enamel. Keeping teeth clean by removing plaque, therefore, prevents tooth decay. Simultaneously, at home you can continue to brush your teeth and floss after meals. If you do not have anything with you, rinse your mouth with water. This will help to remove some of the loose food particles that may be in your mouth or to remove some of the sugar from your teeth. You should also eat a healthy diet since everything that you eat is directly placed onto your teeth.

What you should know about getting a fluoride treatment
At Scott Dexter, DDS, we are a family dentist office that uses fluoride on a regular basis. We recommend that all of our youth patients under the age of eighteen have a fluoride treatment, at least once a year. Statistically, these treatments reduce the risk of getting cavities by 30 percent. This is significant considering that tooth decay is one of the primary reasons children miss days from school. Adults can also benefit from receiving a fluoride treatment and if you would like to find out if it is right for you, call 916-233-0910 to schedule an appointment. The treatment itself only takes a couple of minutes. The fluoride is applied directly to the teeth. It has no odor or smell and after a few minutes, patients are free to leave. It is one of the easiest ways to prevent cavities.

How to select the right toothbrush
Patients of our general dentist office are given a toothbrush at each visit. We recommend that you use it for three months and then replace it. When purchasing a toothbrush, look for a soft one that will not irritate your gums or erode your enamel. Otherwise, we suggest a battery operated or electric toothbrush since they can give you the best clean. The toothbrush head rotates while you are moving the brush around, helping you to break up more plaque for the cleanest possible teeth.

Food and drinks that you should avoid
As a family dentist office, we recommend that you avoid drinking too much soda, juice, coffee or anything that contains a lot of sugar. You should also stay away from candy, desserts, and particularly sour candy. Additionally, acidic fruit is bad for your teeth. Any time that you have a diet that is high in sugar and starch it is bad for your teeth because the bacteria on your teeth will thrive in this environment. Simultaneously, when you eat foods that are highly acidic, it can lead to enamel erosion. At Scott Dexter, DDS, we recommend that you eat a diet high in green leafy vegetables, lean protein, dairy, and nuts since they can help to remineralize and strengthen your teeth. For more tips on how to eat a mouth-healthy diet, call (916) 233-0910 and schedule an appointment to speak with Dr. Dexter.

Helpful Related Links

• American Dental Association (ADA). Glossary of Dental Terms. 2015
• American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry® (AACD). Home Page. 2015
• WebMD. WebMD’s Oral Care Guide. 2015

About our business, license, and website security

• Scott Dexter, DDS was established in 1991
• We accept the following payment methods: Cash, Check, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa
• We serve patients from the following counties: El Dorado County & Sacramento County
• We serve patients from the following cities: El Dorado Hills, Folsom, Cameron Park, Rescue


• Website Safety Ratings and Reputation – AVG Threat Labs. View Details
• Norton Safe Web. View Details
• Trend Micro Site Safety Center. View Details

Back to top of Oral Hygiene Basics