Good brushing and flossing comes down to technique more than effort. Most people spend enough time with a toothbrush in their mouth but miss key details that make the difference between surface-level cleaning and actually removing the plaque that causes cavities and gum disease. Here’s how to do both correctly.
How to Brush Your Teeth
The technique most dentists recommend is called the Modified Bass method. Hold your toothbrush at an angle so the bristles point toward your gumline, not straight at your teeth. Make short back-and-forth strokes, then sweep the brush away from the gumline toward the biting edge of the tooth. This motion pulls plaque out from under the gum rather than just pushing it around on the tooth surface.
Work in small sections, covering two or three teeth at a time. Brush the outer surfaces, inner surfaces, and chewing surfaces of every tooth. For the inside of your front teeth, tilt the brush vertically and use the tip to make gentle up-and-down strokes. The whole process should take about two minutes, twice a day.
A few details that matter more than people realize:
- Use a soft-bristled brush. Hard bristles can push your gumline back over time, wear down enamel, and create visible notching near the gumline. A soft brush cleans just as well without the damage.
- Don’t rinse with water afterward. Spit out the excess toothpaste, but skip the rinse. Rinsing washes away the concentrated fluoride left on your teeth and reduces its protective effect.
- Wait after acidic foods. If you’ve had coffee, orange juice, soda, or anything acidic, wait at least 60 minutes before brushing. Acid temporarily softens enamel, and brushing too soon can wear it away.
Electric vs. Manual Toothbrushes
Either works, but electric toothbrushes do have a measurable edge. A large Cochrane review found that electric toothbrushes (the oscillating-rotating kind) removed about 21% more plaque and reduced gum inflammation by 11% compared to manual brushes over three months of use. That gap is meaningful if you tend to rush, have limited hand mobility, or just want to take technique out of the equation. If you already brush well with a manual brush, though, you’re not at a disadvantage.
Whichever type you use, replace it every three to four months, or sooner if the bristles look splayed or frayed. Worn bristles don’t clean effectively.
How to Floss Your Teeth
Start with about 18 inches of floss. Wind most of it around one middle finger and a small amount around the opposite middle finger. Use your thumbs and index fingers to guide a one- to two-inch section of taut floss between your teeth.
When the floss reaches the gumline, curve it into a C shape against one tooth. Gently slide it into the space between the gum and the tooth, then move it up and down along the side of that tooth. Unwrap a fresh section of floss, curve it into a C against the neighboring tooth, and repeat. This C-shape technique is what separates effective flossing from just snapping floss between your teeth and calling it done. The goal is to hug each tooth surface and clean just below the gumline where your brush can’t reach.
Don’t skip the back side of your last molars. Work through every gap, upper and lower, using a clean section of floss as you go.
Should You Floss Before or After Brushing?
The ADA says both orders work, as long as you’re thorough. That said, some dental experts lean toward flossing first. The logic is straightforward: flossing dislodges food and plaque from between teeth, and brushing afterward sweeps those loosened particles away and delivers fluoride to the freshly cleaned surfaces. If you’ve struggled to build a flossing habit, though, the best order is whichever one you’ll actually stick with.
Water Flossers and Other Alternatives
Water flossers shoot a pressurized stream of water between teeth to remove food particles and plaque. They’re particularly useful if you have braces, bridges, implants, or other dental work that makes string floss difficult to maneuver. They’re also a good option if limited hand dexterity makes traditional flossing uncomfortable.
If you’re already flossing with string floss without any gum bleeding or problems, there’s no need to switch. Both tools can clean between teeth effectively. The key is that you’re cleaning those interproximal spaces (the gaps between teeth) daily with something, because a toothbrush alone misses roughly 40% of your tooth surfaces.
Choosing the Right Toothpaste
The most important ingredient in toothpaste is fluoride. Most toothpastes sold in the U.S. contain 1,000 to 1,100 parts per million of fluoride, which is the standard concentration for adults and children old enough to spit reliably. Fluoride strengthens enamel and helps reverse the earliest stages of decay before a cavity forms. Beyond that, whether you pick a whitening formula, a sensitivity formula, or a basic tube is mostly personal preference. Just make sure the box has the ADA Seal of Acceptance, which confirms the fluoride level and safety claims have been independently verified.
You need less toothpaste than most ads suggest. A pea-sized amount is enough for adults. For children under three, a rice-grain-sized smear is appropriate.
Putting It All Together
A solid daily routine looks like this: floss once a day (ideally before brushing), brush twice a day for two minutes each time with a soft-bristled brush and fluoride toothpaste, spit but don’t rinse, and replace your brush every three to four months. The whole process takes under five minutes and prevents the vast majority of cavities and gum disease. Consistency matters far more than perfection on any single day.