Do not short change your time when it comes to brushing your teeth. Two minutes is the minimum time you need to clean all of your teeth. If you need to set a timer or brush to a song on the radio. But do not skimp on brushing time. While brushing your teeth make sure to brush each tooth thoroughly.

Brushing Your Teeth Correctly Can Take Some Practice.

Sometimes in order to do something well it does take some practice. Make sure you are brushing your teeth correctly and if not practice brushing you teeth so you can have good technique.

Brushing Your Teeth: You will want to hold your toothbrush at a slight angle, aim the bristles toward the area where your tooth meets your gum. Gently brush with short back-and-forth motions. Remember to brush the outside, inside and chewing surfaces of your teeth, as well as your tongue.

Using the Correct Equipment in Maintaining Your Dental Health

In order to get the job done right you must first start with using the right tools for the job. The same can be said about your oral health care. Make sure to use toothpaste with fluoride and a soft-bristled toothbrush that fits your mouth comfortably.

You may want to consider using an electric or battery-operated toothbrush, if you have arthritis or other problems that make it difficult to brush effectively. A side benefit is they can help to reduce plaque and a mild form of gum disease (gingivitis) more than manual brushing dose.

Your oral health starts with clean teeth. By keeping the area where your teeth meet your gums clean you can help to prevent gum disease. Keeping your tooth surfaces clean will help you prevent cavities. Consider these brushing basics from the American Dental Association:

• Brush your teeth twice a day with a soft-bristled brush. The size and shape of your brush should fit your mouth allowing you to reach all areas easily.
• Replace your toothbrush every three or four months, or sooner if the bristles are frayed. A worn toothbrush won’t do a good job of cleaning your teeth.
• Make sure to use an ADA-accepted fluoride toothpaste.
• The proper brushing technique is to:
• Place your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gums.
• Gently move the brush back and forth in short (tooth-wide) strokes.
• Brush the outer surfaces, the inner surfaces, and the chewing surfaces of the teeth.
• To clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth, tilt the brush vertically and make several up-and-down strokes.
• Brush your tongue to remove bacteria and keep your breath fresh.

I am a minor can I use crest advanced white stripes?

Question: I am a minor with yellowish looking teeth. I hate to smile because I do not have white teeth and my mom will not pay to have my teeth whiten at the dentist. I also ask to use whiten strips but she says she was told they can make your teeth sensitive and would prefer for me not too. Is that true? And can I still buy them if I am a minor.

Answer: Your mother is correct. Whiten strips can make your teeth sensitive. You may wish to find a product that has a lower dosage, or use them for a shorter time. If you find your teeth are getting sensitive to the strips you may wish to stop treatment for a while.

However that being said, it is still something your mother would need to approve of before you go ahead and use any whiten strips. Maybe ask your mother if you can first start off with using a toothpaste product with whiten. I not addressing weather or not you can still buy them since I would suggest not going behind your mother back and do what she told you no to already.

Question: How much does a bridge cost and is it permanent?

Answer: The average cost of a single fixed bridge depends on many factors, from which region you’re in to how many and which type of bridges are needed. Typically dental bridge cost ranges from $500-900 per tooth. Dental insurance typically pays for about half of the cost of the bridge. This is a cost per tooth in the bridge, and doesn’t include the costs for any anchoring crowns on either side of the bridge.

Question: I have old partials and I would like news one but I need dental insurance first. So I am looking at the plans but do not know where to find dentures and partial coverage’s information on the fee schedule when reviewing an HMO insurance plan. I want to make sure I would have coverage for what I need.

Answer: Dentures can normally be found under the Prosthetics services. I have taken the time to list some ADA codes for dentures hope it helps you. 

5110/5120 Complete upper or lower denture
5130/5140 Immediate upper or lower denture
5211/5212 Upper or lower partial denture, resin base
5213/5214 Upper or lower partial denture, cast metal
framework with resin denture bases
5410/5411 Adjust denture
5421/5422 Adjust partial denture
5820/5821 Interim partial denture, upper or lower

Question: My daughter is seven and got into an accident were she lost four of her top front teeth. They are just her baby teeth but I do not like that she has to deal with such a big gap. Could she get a dental bridge until her adult teeth come in? Or would that be consider as cosmetic dental services since they are only her baby teeth? I know my dental insurance plan does not cover for cosmetic.

Answer: Your child may be able to get space maintainers and in most dental insurance plans, they do over coverage’s for space maintainers. Talk to your child dentist to see what he/she would advise.

Question: My daughter is nine but her teeth are really crooked and her dentist as stated she may need braces. Right now she has a space maintainer in hopes to avoid braces. If she does need to have braces would that be when all her baby teeth are out? I see no point in putting braces on baby teeth. Yet is almost seems that is what her dentist is hinting at.

Answer: It would be hard to say, sometimes children do get braces while they still their baby teeth. The braces help keep the teeth in place as the adult teeth come out. You should talk to an orthodontic as a consult. Some orthodontic dentist will offer free consults and it will be very helpful information for you to have. You may also want to consult your dental insurance carrier to confirm you coverage’s for braces.

Question: My five year old daughter has dental caries. She currently need four filling an a possible baby root canal. I have dental insurance but it does not cover much and I have already maxed out it 1000.00 yearly limit. I found this is easy to do when your child’s teeth keep getting cavities.

Answer: You could look into buying and HMO dental insurance plan that dose not have any waiting periods for the services you daughter needs. Or buy a another PPO plan with a high yearly maximum limitation then just $1000.00.

However, that would mean you may have to deal with waiting periods that will not help you with your daughter current dental care needs. I would also suggest calling your current dental insurance plan and seeing if you can increase the maximum limitation without restarting the plan.

Question: My son is not yet two but I want to take him to see a pediatric dentist. I currently do not have dental insurance for him. I would like to get some insurance in place before I take him to see Pediatric dentist.

Answer: Yes there are some HMO plans to do provide for specialist. However generally you have to be refer to one by the general dentist you would have picked within the plan.

Question: I am 28 years old and been wanting to get braces to fix an overbite issue. I try enrolling in a dental insurance plan to save money on adult braces only to find out after the fact they do not cover for orthodontic treatment for adults. I need recommendations for a dental insurance plan that can help me today.

Answer: Any of our dental discount plans options will provide you with at least a 20% saving off any type of braces for at any age. We also have HMO options that do provide for adult braces. In order to review all our dental insurance and plan options just enter your zip code in the quote box provided. Then call our member services at 310-534-3444 if you should have any questions about the available plans

Question: I have a teen currently in braces but we moved from FL and need to find a new orthodontic dentist. Also I just found out since I moved to a different state my dental insurance is not valid in CA so I need dental insurance that will help me cover the orthodontic treatment my son.

Answer: You may find it hard to find dental insurance for your son orthodontic services since now he would fall under a work in progress exclusion many dental insurance plans have.

Such exclusion would read something like this: Expenses incurred in connection with any dental procedure started prior to the effective date of Coverage or after the termination date of Coverage. Even many dental discount plans have this type of exclusion yet since it is not insurance that can be a judgment call for the dental office to make. Therefore your best option may be a dental discount plan but make sure you call the plan providers first to confirm if they are will to still provide the discount saving for this continue orthodontic care needs before buying the plan.