| Preventive Care
Following is a list of things to do that will absolutely positively enable you to keep your teeth.
1. Brush thoroughly twice a day with a soft toothbrush. Once in the morning and once at night with a different toothbrush. Your toothbrush should be dry when you pick it up to brush (don't brush "dry"--wet it before placing toothpaste on it}. The reason you want it dry is so that it isn't too soft. This is why you need two toothbrushes. If you only use one it will probably never get completely dry before you're using it again.
2. Floss once every day, preferably at night before you go to bed. When you're flossing the floss should go below your gumline. There is a trough that goes around each tooth and this area collects a lot of bacteria. This is the area between the top of your gum and the part of your gum that actually attaches to your root. It's called the sulcus. You also want to make sure you are pushing the floss against the tooth kind of like you're buffing a shoe. You can go back and forth or up and down. I like dental "tape" because it is thicker than floss and I think it "flattens" out more when you push it against the tooth. Flossing is not optional. It is necessary.
3. Rinse with Listerine. It kills bacteria. Really.
4. Brush your tongue after you brush or teeth or use a tongue scraper. You can get tongue scrapers in most pharmacies. This eliminates more bacteria in your mouth. Your tongue has a lot of nooks and crannies in it that are good places for bacteria to hang out. Brushing it removes these bacteria.
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