Hello Shrewsbury! Your overall oral health depends not only on healthy teeth but also healthy gums. Proper oral hygiene helps you to avoid gum disease.

When brushing, hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle aiming the bristle tips at the gumline. The bristles of a soft toothbrush can clean the food particles in the pockets in front and in back of the tooth, but you need floss to clean between the teeth. Be careful to (gently) get the floss down into the pocket between the tooth and gum. Scrape food particles up and out of the pocket.

Back to toothbrushing: if the toothbrush is not held at the correct angle, the bristles can’t get in the pockets to clean out the bacteria before it turns into enamel-damaging plaque. If plaque builds up in the pockets, the gums can start loosening.

Eventually, the pockets will become too deep for your toothbrush bristles to reach. Unfortunately, the lower part of the tooth can’t fight decay as well as the part above the gumline.

There is more than one way to damage your teeth—even if the visible parts of your teeth are cavity-free, gum disease can cause problems with the parts you can’t see.

We work with our patients of all ages to establish essential oral hygiene habits. During exams, we measure the depth of the pockets around each tooth. If you already have gum disease, we can begin treatment.

At Southern York Smile Care in Shrewsbury, we provide cosmetic dentistry in addition to cleanings and checkups. Schedule an appointment with us today.

Contact Southern York Smile Care:

717-235-3871

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

4 S Main St
Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania
17361