Few people out there get as excited about flossing, brushing, and dental hygiene as we do! National Dental Hygiene Month is our favorite month of the year, because it allows us to discuss our passion without any limitations. Believe it or not, sometimes our friends, families and even co-workers get sick of hearing us go on and on about dental healthcare, but this is our month, so they just have to put up with it!
Anyways, this year the American Dental Hygienist Association (ADHA) has come up with a whole new approach for dental offices, and we wanted to share this idea with you. It is called “Do the daily 4”.
What is the Daily 4?
The Daily 4 is just four habits we want people to get into on a daily basis. This is a minimal approach, and we still encourage patients to brush 3 times, floss , rinse and chew sugar free gum. However, if you aren’t in these good habits then this is a more reasonable approach.
All you need to do is brush twice a day, floss once a day, rinse and chew sugar-free gum once a day. That’s it!
By just adding four small things to your daily routine you can improve your dental health and overall well-being.
How to Do the Daily Four RIGHT
The Daily 4 isn’t just about establishing good habits, it is about doing so in the right way. Here are the basics you need to do to correctly implement the daily 4 as part of your life.
- Brush Twice for TWO Minutes
The old school of thinking used to be one minute three times a day. Recent studies suggest a more thorough brushing twice a day actually is better at fighting plague, cavities and other dental issues.
- Floss
A lot of patients struggle with making flossing a habit. Figure out what makes flossing difficult for you, so that a dental hygienist can work with you to pick out floss that works for you.
- Rinse
Only a small part of the mouth is teeth, so you need a rinse to fight bacteria in the rest of the mouth.
- Sugar-Free Gum
If you are on the go, sugar-free gum is a great way to help cleanse the teeth.
Conclusion on National Dental Hygiene Month
Figure out a way to celebrate your oral health with us this month by taking caring care of your mouth. We can’t wait to see the happy, smiling faces you get as a result. To help celebrate, from now until the end of this month, if a patient comes in for a cleaning they have the chance to win a PRO 5000 Power Brush (see the link for details). It is $140 value.
http://www.oralb.com/products/pro-5000-electric-toothbrush-with-smartguide-bluetooth/
