Skipping this important step when brushing your teeth can lead to serious health problems

Dental health recommendations have changed significantly in recent years, but dentists agree on several arguments. Brushing your teeth regularly is essential and you should see your dentist at least once a year. However, when we brush our teeth, some of us forget to do something that is considered very important.

Dentists' recommendations to avoid serious health problems

When you were a child, you were probably told to brush your teeth three times a day, once after each meal. But according to several dentists, brushing your teeth twice a day is enough.

Indeed, in an updated prevention sheet, the UFSBD, a French dentists' union, summarizes its recommendations:

• 2 two-minute brushings (morning and evening)
• the use of a fluoridated toothpaste
• a minimum of one visit per year to the dentist
• a varied and balanced diet

But another point is also addressed, and it is not to be overlooked.

Read more:Dental hygiene: Here's the ultimate guide to the freshest breath

Flossing every night

Do you floss after brushing your teeth? If not, the UFSBD recommends that you do so, at least once after dinner. A member of the union, Dr. Wamaere, says:

Dental floss is so thin that it can fit into the smallest spaces and is suitable for most people, and there is a body of evidence that it reduces gingivitis. Combined with brushing, it would therefore be even more effective.

A recommendation to be taken seriously, because poor dental hygiene can be at the heart of various serious diseases, in particular cardiac diseases, as the UFSBD explains:

An untreated cavity just like a diseased gum are real doors of entry for bacteria or toxins. Bacteria present in the mouth can migrate into the general circulation and come to graft on your heart with a risk of endocarditis.

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Read more:Hygiene: Brushing your teeth in the shower is not good for your health, here's why

Sources used:

UFSBD: Maladie cardiaque et santé bucco-dentaire

NHS: Why should I use dental floss?

NPR: 'Do I really need to floss?' and other common questions about dental care