{"id":79,"date":"2016-01-06T22:03:09","date_gmt":"2016-01-06T22:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.groyfamilydentistry.com\/blog\/?p=79"},"modified":"2026-04-05T01:34:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T01:34:26","slug":"brushing-and-flossing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/brushing-and-flossing\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you Brushing and Flossing the Right Way?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/brushing-and-flossing\/\" class=\"block-image-link\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ThinkstockPhotos-103583424-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Man brushing and flossing teeth\" class=\"wp-image-80\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ThinkstockPhotos-103583424-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ThinkstockPhotos-103583424.jpg 506w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><p>Dr. David S. Groy and his Leesburg, VA team are dedicated to helping patients achieve and maintain their healthiest smiles. By emphasizing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/preventive-dentistry.html\">preventive dental checkups<\/a> twice a year rather than responsive appointments made after pain or damage, we help patients take steps toward optimal oral health. However, even the best dental treatment plan won&rsquo;t succeed unless patients&rsquo; at home care is up to par. Making sure you&rsquo;re brushing and flossing properly may just be the difference between keeping your natural smile for life and trying on a pair of prosthetic teeth. Keep reading to find out more about proper brushing and flossing, or contact our team to find out more today.<br>\n<\/p><!--more--><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Basics of Brushing<\/h2><p>When we ask patients about brushing, almost everyone knows the basics: two minutes at a time two times each day. Most of our patients have been brushing their teeth since they were children, and haven&rsquo;t made any changes to their routines since then, but a few minor shifts could make a big difference. Some basic brushing changes that have huge oral health benefits include:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use small circles or a vibrating back and forth motion over one tooth rather than large circles or broad strokes to release built up plaque.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brush gently with ultra-soft bristles. Aggressive brushing will not remove additional plaque, but it may damage soft tissue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brush systematically not sporadically. Working through each tooth, section of teeth, or from front to back on all sides of your teeth (inside, outside, biting surface) rather than brushing at random offers increased effectiveness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wait half an hour after eating to brush, and half an hour after brushing to eat.<\/li>\n<\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flossing Fundamentals<\/h2><p>The most important aspect of flossing is to be consistent. Unlike brushing, flossing doesn&rsquo;t offer patients the same feeling of instant gratification with fresher breath or cleaner feeling teeth. In fact, plaque and food particles loosened during flossing may make teeth feel dirtier. The benefits of flossing become apparent over time. Some additional flossing tips and tricks include:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Floss around both sides of every tooth (the floss should be in a &lsquo;C&rsquo; shape around the side).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gently move floss back and forth and up and down. Don&rsquo;t snap, twist, or yank.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Move the floss below the gum line.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Find floss that fits your gaps. Patients with large gaps need a more fibrous floss, and those with smaller spaces should start with a waxed or gentle glide floss.<\/li>\n<\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact Your Family Dentist in Leesburg to Find out More<\/h2><p>If it&rsquo;s time for your twice annual appointment or you&rsquo;re concerned about oral hygiene, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/contact.html\">contact<\/a> our friendly Leesburg dental team today. We&rsquo;re happy to help you achieve and maintain the optimal level of oral health, and we&rsquo;re dedicated to helping you keep your natural smile for a lifetime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. David S. Groy and his Leesburg, VA team are dedicated to helping patients achieve and maintain their healthiest smiles. By emphasizing preventive dental checkups twice a year rather than responsive appointments made after pain or damage, we help patients take steps toward optimal oral health. However, even the best dental treatment plan won\u2019t succeed unless patients\u2019 at home care is up to par. Making sure you\u2019re brushing and flossing properly may just be the difference between keeping your natural smile for life and trying on a pair of prosthetic teeth. Keep reading to find out more about proper brushing and flossing, or contact our team to find out more today. <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/brushing-and-flossing\/\">(Read More)<\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[8,40,11,38,39,37,22,21,20,19,32,41,4,2,30,9,3,34,33,26,10,29,7],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-dentistry","tag-ashburn","tag-brushing","tag-cavities","tag-dentist","tag-dentist-leesburg","tag-dentist-leesburg-va","tag-dr-david-groy","tag-emergency-dental","tag-emergency-dentist","tag-emergency-dentistry","tag-family-dentist-leesburg","tag-flossing","tag-general-dentistry","tag-groy-family-dentistry","tag-gum-disease-therapy","tag-hamilton","tag-leesburg","tag-leesburg-dentist","tag-leesburg-family-dentist","tag-lovettsville","tag-middleburg","tag-oral-health","tag-purcellville"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are you Brushing and Flossing the Right Way? - Downtown Family Dental of Leesburg Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you brushing and flossing daily but still ending up with cavities when you visit the dentist? It may be time to make some changes to your oral hygiene routine.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/brushing-and-flossing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are you Brushing and Flossing the Right Way? - Downtown Family Dental of Leesburg Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you brushing and flossing daily but still ending up with cavities when you visit the dentist? It may be time to make some changes to your oral hygiene routine.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/brushing-and-flossing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Downtown Family Dental of Leesburg Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-06T22:03:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T01:34:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ThinkstockPhotos-103583424.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"506\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"337\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dr_groy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dr_groy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/brushing-and-flossing\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/brushing-and-flossing\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"dr_groy\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c3bd98a612b1ab564162baa654830289\"},\"headline\":\"Are you Brushing and Flossing the Right Way?\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-06T22:03:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T01:34:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/brushing-and-flossing\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":476,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/brushing-and-flossing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/ThinkstockPhotos-103583424-300x200.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Ashburn\",\"brushing\",\"cavities\",\"dentist\",\"dentist Leesburg\",\"dentist leesburg va\",\"Dr. David Groy\",\"emergency dental\",\"emergency dentist\",\"emergency dentistry\",\"family dentist leesburg\",\"flossing\",\"general dentistry\",\"Groy Family Dentistry\",\"gum disease therapy\",\"Hamilton\",\"Leesburg\",\"leesburg dentist\",\"leesburg family dentist\",\"Lovettsville\",\"Middleburg\",\"oral health\",\"Purcellville\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Family Dentistry\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/brushing-and-flossing\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/brushing-and-flossing\\\/\",\"name\":\"Are you Brushing and Flossing the Right Way? - Downtown Family Dental of Leesburg Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/brushing-and-flossing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/brushing-and-flossing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/ThinkstockPhotos-103583424-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-06T22:03:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T01:34:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leesburgdowntowndental.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c3bd98a612b1ab564162baa654830289\"},\"description\":\"Are you brushing and flossing daily but still ending up with cavities when you visit the dentist? 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