A popular TikTok dentist, Dr. John Yoo, has racked up over 755,000 likes on a recent video about oral hygiene hacks that he personally uses and wishes his colleagues would share more readily. And all the tips beat our clay toothpaste review by a mile (seriously).
Step 1: floss technique
“All I ask is that you try your best,” he says at the start of the video in a soft tone that seems to put viewers at ease. “Step 1: flossing.”
He then proceeds to show viewers that he prefers a thicker, more fibrous floss than the standard and coating it a bit of your favorite toothpaste to let the active ingredients to do their magic behind the gum line.
“I like to tell my patients, you don’t have to floss all your teeth—just the ones you want to keep,” he quips as he shows how to properly coat any floss you like best.
Dr. Yoo’s preferred floss is this fresh, dentist-approved Cocofloss
“Use a C-shape below the gumline on both sides,” he continues, explaining that technique is everything when it comes to preventing tooth decay, inflammation, gum disease and other oral hygiene perils.
He adds that water flossers DO NOT replace string floss.
Step 2: soft bristles
“Soft bristles are better than medium or hard, so stick to soft bristles.”
He then suggested coating your teeth with toothpaste before starting to brush so you know each tooth has an adequate amount with active ingredients.
He demonstrates using a 45-degree angle instead of the more popular back-and-forth horizontal method most of us use. The horizontal motion we’re all used to apparently is bad for gums, while a 45-degree angle cleans teeth and gums in unison and clears debris.
Step 3: tongue cleaning
The second half of his three-minute video is perhaps the most interesting, because most of us have never considered tongue scraping with a standard metal spoon—but he says it works nicely if you don’t have a ‘real’ tongue scraper on hand.
Shop his preferred tongue scraper style from $5 now
Watch his entire video here:
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