While the old adage states “Brush only the ones you want to keep”, we definitely don’t condone that behavior. Not only do we recommend cleaning all your teeth, here are a few other areas of the mouth that are often overlooked.

Tongue – Like all other parts of the mouth, the tongue can accumulate debris and bacteria. While typical brushing can clean the tongue to some extent, if you really want to clean your tongue you may want to use a tongue scraper to really do it right.

Gums – One of the areas that is missed most during brushing is where the teeth meet the gums. It’s important to brush the area at a 45 degree angle to reach all the spaces properly. Be mindful not to brush too hard, as you don’t want to cause gum recession.

In between the teeth – Most people still don’t floss and as a result miss cleaning a large percentage of their tooth surface. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to floss regularly.

The back teeth – Researchers found that the top back teeth are the ones most likely to have plaque on them. Be sure to take your time with the back teeth, brushing and flossing to get the entire surface of the teeth.