The simple twice daily task of brushing your teeth that most people complete without even realising. Something we each do daily to protect our smiles yet we give little consideration for its importance.


Unsurprisingly most people have never been shown how to clean their teeth properly, meaning that most people don’t give toothbrushing the recognition it deserves when it comes to its importance. Cleaning your teeth daily is often seen as a chore, to many its simply a small menial task that if skipped or missed is no big deal.


These same people may be concerned about ill health, they may have a family history of diabetes, Alzheimers, dementia, heart disease stroke or cancer. 


These people may try to live a healthy lifestyle, sure they enjoy their weekends but they will usually adopt an active approach to their health and try to reduce their risk of developing one of the many diseases associated with poor diet and an inactive lifestyle.


People just like you are trying their hardest to maintain the balancing act of living a conscious life whilst enjoying their time also. People just like you are skipping toothbrushing or not giving flossing the time and respect it deserves. I hear you, you may be late for work, you prefer to spend a few extra minutes in bed, your teeth always bleed when you floss so its best to avoid flossing right? Maybe it's time to re-think this thought.


Oral health is in part one of the biggest risk factors to poor general health. There is a thin line between the inside and outside of your body when it comes to the tissues in your mouth. Have your gums ever bleed whilst you have brushes or flossed them? Just as easily as the blood seeps from your gumline, bacteria can enter your bloodstream through your gumline. Have you ever thought of that? 


Bacteria that has been left on the surface of your teeth can enter into your bloodstream and travel to so many systems of your body. Its important that we recognise the importance of oral health and how the implications of ignoring bleeding gums and deciding not to invest time into our brushing routine could be putting ourselves at risk of developing diseases that are linked to the bacteria found in our mouthes.


To learn ask your dental care professional about your risk of gum disease and a demonstration of how to care for your teeth effectively. Alternatively learn how to care for your smile from the comfort of your own home with The 28 Day Smile challenge, the foundation course of Kirsty's Smile Academy (app downloadable on Google play & App Store.)


Did you like this blog?
Please let me know in the comment section below


Kirsty
Oral Health Coach
Dental Hygiene Therapist
website www.the28daysmile.co.uk
Instagram @The28DaySmile
Facebook www.facebook.com/The28DaySmile/
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Master toothbrushing in just a few hours

Have you every thought of toothbrushing as a skill?

A simple daily habit overlooked by so many as being just ‘something we have to do’ but have you ever really thought about toothbrushing and what you're actually brushing your teeth for?

The aim of toothbrushing is to remove plaque bacteria. Plaque bacteria is a mix of your saliva, left over food particles and bacteria. Sounds gross right? Well it is, worst still is that poor oral hygiene means that this plaque bacteria is left on the surface of your enamel when not removed daily with effective toothbrush and appropriate interdental cleaning. 

Imagine not brushing your teeth properly and allowing this bacteria to live and grow on the surface of your smile. Doesn’t sound nice does it? Luckily there are products available that you can buy to help you remove this plaque daily, that allow you to protect your smile from the harmful damaging affects that bacteria can cause. Left on the surface of your teeth bacteria will metabolise sugar found in the foods and drinks that you consume and produce acid. This acid weakens your enamel and results in cavities forming. Also the presence of this plaque upsets your gum issue. Your bone will protect itself from this plaque bacteria by receding, meaning you could develop gum disease, bone loss and tooth loss due to ineffective oral care.

I’m sure most of you agree that you try to look after your smile as best as possible, your most likely agree that you could floss a little more, but who flosses? Besides bad teeth and gum disease runs in your family and your teeth have always bleed so there is no reason to be concerned? Right?.. Wrong. Bleeding gums are one of the first signs of gum disease (not present in those that smoke, a topic to be discussed in another blog) Bleeding gums should never be ignored. 

So what can you do? You could head to the supermarket and pick up the fanciest most expensive toothbrush on the shelf, you could buy the most expensive toothpaste you can find or you could spend your time investing into learning how to brush your teeth.

That’s right, toothbrushing is a skill, a skill that can be learnt at any age. You could visit your dental care professional and ask for a thorough in surgery demonstration on how to use your toothbrush and interdental cleaning brushes/floss. You could go to university and learn how to brush like I did? 5 years at the dental academy learning how to brush my teeth and care for my patients smiles. I believe everyone deserves to have access to up to date & effective oral care, that’s why I created The 28 Day Smile.

The 28 Day Smile is an innovative oral hygiene program designed to give you the knowledge and understanding needed to care for your teeth so that you can smile for life.

So if you’d like to learn how to brush your teeth like a pro and gain the skills needed to keep your smile clean & healthy for life, simply take onThe 28 Day Smile Challenge.


Did you like this blog?
Please let me know in the comment section below


Kirsty
Oral Health Coach
Dental Hygiene Therapist
website www.the28daysmile.co.uk
Instagram @The28DaySmile
Facebook www.facebook.com/The28DaySmile/

What toothbrush should I use?

What toothbrush should I use? The question I’m asked daily in surgery by patients wanting to know what toothbrush is going to clean their smile the best.

Do you want to know the truth? There is no toothbrush for sale today that’s guaranteed to save your smile from dental disease. 

You cannot buy a toothbrush and expect it to do all the wonderful things that it is advertised to do (although that would be a dream)

Why not? Why can’t we expect a toothbrush to do all that it’s advertised to do? Given the same toothbrush each person will use it differently, and so you see it is not simply a question of which toothbrush is the best? It is a question of how to use a toothbrush. 
This is the question that should be asked. We are so used to being able to buy gadgets that are quite self-explanatory. Yet there are techniques to using them all. Instead of asking your dental care professional what toothbrush you should be using, try asking them for a demonstration, the leading manufactures offer dental practices the opportunity to have demonstration brushes in their surgeries. Should your practice not have offer this service (I would question why not, seeing as prevention is better than cure, and I would expect this of all dental surgeries in the UK especially) 

You could take your toothbrush along and ask for a thorough demonstration. This is where true difference is made, felt and achieved. Toothbrushing is a skill that needs to be acquired prior to contemplating investing your hard earned cash on a new toothbrush. 

Now I’m not suggesting electric toothbrushes are bad, I mean only to bring to your attention that it’s technique that matters most. After all buying a Ferrari does not mean you can drive. /buying a toothbrush does not mean you can brush your teeth, if this was true there would be almost no dental decay or gum disease, and peoples general health would be far better (due to the amount of diseases that are linked to poor oral health, this is a topic for another blog) 

Please understand that there are toothbrushes that are better than others, however no toothbrush will compensate for a poor brushing technique.

If you would like to know more and learn the art of toothbrushing so that you can protect your smile by learning to brush like a pro, please visit or follow The 28 Day Smile.


Did you like this blog?
Please let me know in the comment section below

Kirsty
​Oral Health Coach
​Dental Hygiene Therapist
Website www.the28daysmile.co.uk
Instagram @The28DaySmile
Facebook www.facebook.com/The28DaySmile/