Life is busy for many Yuma residents. At times, it’s impossible to get all the “gotta do’s” done, and many are put off or dropped altogether.
Sometimes your car has to wait for another 500 miles for an oil change. Or you are a month late replacing your furnace filter. Or you realize that you’ve had a leaky faucet for as long as you can remember.
Many important things get put on the back burner, but we plead with you not to dismiss essential dental care.
Here are some common dental care shortcuts. Are you guilty of any of them?
Rushing Through Brushing
Your teeth deserve a careful two minutes or more. Slow and methodical beats quick and dirty. Use a process to make sure you get every tooth. Playing one of your favorite two- or three-minute songs may help you go the distance.
Only Seeing Your Dentist When You Feel a Toothache
We hope none of our patients put off examinations and cleanings. When you feel tooth pain, it may be way too late to prevent a filling or even a root canal.
Neglecting Professional Cleanings
When softer plaque turns to calculus, you can’t clean it off with a toothbrush. Six-month cleanings help get rid of the calculus or tartar before it can hurt your enamel or irritate your gums.
Using Floss Picks Instead of Dental Floss
While it’s better to floss with a floss pick than to not floss at all, it’s important to know that floss picks can only clean a part of the tooth’s surface. A floss pick holds just a small length of floss stretched in a straight line. Looking down, a tooth is shaped somewhat round or oval.
A straight piece of floss just doesn’t make sense geometrically because it doesn’t conform to the contours of the tooth as well as traditional floss. When you wrap a string of floss completely around the circumference of a tooth, you can more thoroughly clean that crucial area around and just below the gumline. We have seen patients who are observant floss pick users who developed decay in a minuscule crack the floss pick foregone day after day.
At The Yuma Dentist, we encourage our patients to practice preventative dentistry to protect their smiles for life.
For more information, call The Yuma Dentist today at 928-783-0804
CONTACT THE YUMA DENTIST (TAP TO OPEN IN GOOGLE MAPS):
THE YUMA DENTIST – PACIFIC AVENUE
1630 S PACIFIC AVE STE 104
YUMA, AZ 85365
928-975-0733THE YUMA DENTIST – FORTUNA FOOTHILLS
11231 E COMMERCIAL CENTER LOOP STE 105
YUMA, AZ 85367
928-955-8211
