Take Care of Your Teeth

Day #6

6. Brush and floss.  Particularly after you eat a meal as you will be less tempted to snack.  Who wants to ruin their minty-fresh breath after all that time and trouble? Moreover, one of the most important things you can do is to brush and floss your teeth each day as most mouth woes are caused by plaque, the gross layer of bacteria, bits of food and other organic matter that forms on your teeth (www.colgate.com). 

Nasty Critters :)

Brushing removes plaque from the large surfaces of the teeth and from just under the gums. Flossing removes plaque from between your teeth.  You can have too much of a good thing though, so brush no more than three times a day because brushing too often can damage your gums. As for flossing, most dentists recommend flossing at least once a day. If you tend to get food trapped between teeth, you can floss more often. Also, don't skimp on the floss. Use as much floss as you need to clean both sides of every tooth with a fresh section. In fact, you may need to floss one tooth several times (using fresh sections of floss) to remove all the food. Some professionals think that reusing sections of floss may move bacteria from one tooth to another.

Exercise report: Going for a 1 hour walk before class tonight, and then hitting the weights after.  Hopefully, I won’t be too exhausted from grading mid-term exams :)