What is the Patient responsibility in regards to their oral hygiene

Besides having regular dental exams, you also need professional hygiene visits and your own good oral hygiene routine. While you may think occasionally skipping brushing and flossing isn’t a big deal, remember your mouth is an unstable environment constantly under attack from bacteria. Since we don’t clean perfectly each time, like a dirty casserole dish that isn’t thoroughly scrubbed, it’s easy for plaque to build up. Ask yourself these questions to see how you’re doing with your hygiene routine:

-Are you brushing with an electric toothbrush or still with a manual?

-Are you brushing at least twice a day for two minutes or more and checking afterwards to see if you missed any spots?

-Are you flossing daily to clean the places you can’t reach with your toothbrush?

-Have you talked with our hygienists about if you should be using a mouth rinse or a prescription to deal with excessive bacteria?

Since we don’t brush or floss perfectly each time, keeping up a consistent routine is important to make up for the times we miss spots. Inadequate personal cleaning is also one of the reasons professional hygiene visits are necessary.