Brushing is not enough: what actually protects your teeth

Almost everyone brushes. Far fewer people do the things that actually prevent decay and gum disease, which is why so many of the extractions we perform were avoidable.

Start with technique. Two minutes, twice a day, with a soft brush held at forty-five degrees to the gum line and moved in small circles. Hard scrubbing back and forth wears away enamel and pushes the gums back — it does not clean better.

Brushing reaches about sixty percent of a tooth's surface. The remaining forty percent is between the teeth, which is precisely where decay most often starts. Floss or an interdental brush once a day is not optional if you want to keep your teeth.

Do not rinse with water straight after brushing. It washes away the concentrated fluoride you have just applied. Spit, and leave it.

Watch the frequency of sugar rather than the quantity. Six sweets eaten at once does less harm than six eaten across a day, because each exposure restarts an acid attack lasting around twenty minutes.

And come for a scale and polish twice a year. Hardened plaque cannot be removed by brushing at any standard — it needs instruments.