Colgate Oral Care 101: The Proper Way To Brush Your Teeth

Time and again, I'd say that you can never be truly beautiful if you're not healthy. Makeup cannot cover bad skin and skin care can only do so much. When it comes to our teeth, if it ain't healthy, no amount of pricey lipstick or one-of-a-kind shade can hide the fact that indeed, it needs help. 

Beauty inside and out-this is a concept I've fully realized now so my approach to beauty is more holistic already that's why I work out consistently (more consistently than ever!), eat healthy, take my supplements, sleep well, stay positive all the time, and lately, I've paid close attention to my teeth. A lot of people say that I have a fab set of teeth, but I feel that I'm not taking care of them like how I'm supposed to. Well, it's never too late-always!

Colgate's Bloggers event came just in time because I wanted to know more about oral care from the experts. We had a one-on-one with Dr. Angel David, a dentist together with the members of Colgate Philippines. I would say that this event has turned my world upside down because of a lot of shocking revelations on brushing, flossing, and whatnots-this event made me realize that I've been doing it wrong all along! 

This is a super interesting and informative post so read it 'til the end! Click READ MORE now!

How To Brush Properly

- When we were young, we were told that these are the proper techniques in brushing: horizontal up-down motion, circular motion, and left and right motion. 

Dr. David told us that the proper way to brush is just simply brushing against the direction of the teeth's growth. So for your upper teeth, brush downwards and for your lower teeth, brush upwards--I also think that separating both sets of teeth while brushing would be more favorable so the food debris and bacteria will just fall on your tongue and not go back into the teeth gaps. 

But first, position your toothbrush first at a 45-degree angle and proceed with brushing-you should brush each tooth for at least a second and repeat twice.

Why are the previous techniques wrong? Because they push the gums upwards or downwards, which may lead to gum and tooth sensitivity. Also, these techniques just push bacteria and food debris back and forth within the gaps between your teeth, thus they won't be genuinely clean.

Why Flossing Is Important

There are persistent food debris that can't be removed by brushing alone and the good ol' toothbrush is just too big enough for some parts of your teeth. This is where flossing comes in.

Flossing will take out morsels stuck or hidden in between your teeth. Because if these morsels are left in your mouth for hours, bacteria will develop on them and harm your teeth and cause bad breath.

How much floss should you take every time? Easy. Measure with your arm's length and voila! You can now begin flossing your way into healthier teeth.

Dr. David suggested the waxed type of floss because it has a smoother, softer, and gentler texture.

Oh did you know that your floss can also show you signs of your teeth's current condition? If you noticed that your floss has tears and rips after usage, it could only mean that you have cracks on the sides of your teeth! Another factor to consider is the quality of the floss used, but to be safe, visit your dentist if you encounter this!

The Real Use of Mouthwash

The most shocking revelation in the event for me would have to be this: We are not supposed to rinse off toothpaste from our mouth! I've been doing this for 20 years so this fact is pretty tough to swallow for me, but I'm always open to new information!

Okay, so why do we have to leave our toothpaste in our mouths? Dr. David said that toothpaste contains calcium and other forms of minerals that are very beneficial to our teeth, and the reason why you should leave it in for hours (or overnight) is because aside from cleansing, the main goal of toothpaste is to re-mineralize your teeth. Just like our skin, our teeth are being stripped off of important minerals every single day and toothpaste serves as its 'skin care'.

But there are a lot of people who don't buy this and this is why mouthwash was invented. Mouthwash is like 'charged water' that contains minerals found in toothpaste so it's better used as a rinsing agent instead of water. Mouthwash, too, removes bacteria and food that may be left behind.

Choose an alcohol- free mouthwash so it won't burn your mouth. Large concentrations of alcohol in mouthwash, btw, may enhance bad breath.

There you go! These are the highlights of the event. We also talked about more oral care- related issues and this is what struck me the most: 9 out of 10 children are suffering from cavities, according to Colgate, and it is sad to know that in the region, the Philippines has the most cases. This study is based on all Filipino children in all social groups and the main causes would be poverty, negligence, and lack of proper oral care know-how--it's surprising for Colgate (and us too!) that even middle- class, affluent, and-brace yourself-rich Pinoy kids are being plagued by dental problems as well.

So do your part. I hope when you're done reading this post, you will employ these proper oral care techniques and share it with everyone you know too. Information spreads like wild fire on social media so let's all share something worthwhile and valuable with our family, friends, and even acquaintances today. 

Having healthy, happy citizens is a sign that a country is progressive-we might not be there yet, but if we start now with oral care at least, we will soon reach that point. ;)

Visit COLGATE on Facebook for more information. They're also holding free dental check- ups and other oral care- related activities in barangays and barrios-please just go to their official FB fan page for updates on that and please share if they have anything on right now to inform everyone and hopefully, those who need it the most. :)