1. Use a soft brush with rounded bristles.  Choose a size and shape that let you reach all the way to your back teeth.  Get a new toothbrush every 3 months.

2. Brush at a 45-degree angle to your teeth.  Put the bristles at the place where your gums and teeth meet.  Use gentle circles.  Do not scrub.  Years of brushing too hard can make your gums pull away from your teeth (or recede).

3. Clean every surface of every tooth.  This means you must brush the cheek side, the tongue side and the top of each tooth.  If you brush the same way all the time, you may be missing the same spots all the time.  Try changing your brushing pattern.

4. Slow down.  A good brushing should take 2 to 3 minutes.  Put a timer on to make sure you brush long enough.

5. Brush your tongue.

Flossing removes plaque and bacteria that you cannot reach with your toothbrush.  If plaque is not removed, it hardens into tartar (also called calculus).  Tartar cannot be removed by brushing or flossing and requires professional removal at a dental office.

Floss at least once a day.  Try flossing while you do something else, like watching TV or listening to music.

How to floss:

1. Take a piece of floss about as long as your arm.  Wrap it around your middle fingers, leaving about 2 inches between your hands.  Use your index fingers to guide the floss between your teeth.

2. Slide the floss between your teeth and wrap it into a "C" shape.  It should wrap around the base of the tooth, where the tooth meets the gum.

3. Wipe the tooth from bottom to top 2 or 3 times, or more, until it is squeaky clean.

4. Be sure to floss both sides of each tooth.  Do not forget the backs of the last molars.

5. Move to a new part of the floss as you move from tooth to tooth.

6. Floss first, then brush.  This will give you a better cleaning.

Gums sometimes bleed when you first begin to floss. It most often stops after a few days.  If bleeding does not stop, see your dentist.