Do You Brush Your Teeth Properly?你真的会刷牙吗？

Brushing your teeth effectively lowers your chances of getting a number of chronic diseases， as well as keeping your teeth and gums healthy. But the majority of us are doing it wrong.

有效刷牙可以降低患上各种慢性疾病的风险，同时也能保持牙齿和牙龈的健康。但我们大多数人刷牙的方式都是错误的。

In Sweden， one study found as few as one in 10 people practice the best brushing technique. The British health insurer Bupa found that almost half of respondents did not know how to brush their teeth properly in a survey of 2，000 people in the UK.

瑞典的一项研究发现，只有十分之一的人掌握了最佳的刷牙技巧。英国健康保险公司Bupa在一项涵盖了2000名英国人的调查中发现，近半数受访者不知道如何正确刷牙。

So what exactly are most of us getting wrong， and how can we change our routine to make sure we brush our teeth effectively？ Here’s how to properly brush your teeth， according to experts.

那么我们大多数人到底错在哪里？我们应该如何改变日常习惯以确保有效地刷牙呢？来看看专家们建议的正确刷牙方法吧。

“Lots of patients understand that what they need to do is remove food remnants，” says Josefine Hirschfeld， associate professor and specialist in restorative dentistry at the University of Birmingham in the UK. “That is only partially true. It’s much more important to remove bacteria from the teeth.”

英国伯明翰大学副教授、修复牙科学专家约瑟芬·赫希菲尔德说：“很多患者知道刷牙时需要清除食物残渣。这种认知只对了一部分。事实上，清除牙齿上的细菌要重要得多。”

These bacteria and other microorganisms grow inside everyone’s mouth， and form a claggy biofilm commonly known as dental plaque. “They are living in the sticky film stuck to the teeth and also to the soft tissues，” says Hirschfeld. “This sticky film can’t be easily washed off—it really needs to be manually cleaned.”

这些细菌和其他微生物在每个人的口腔内生长，并形成被称为牙菌斑的黏稠生物膜。赫希菲尔德说：“它们生活在黏附在牙齿和软组织上的黏膜中。这种黏膜无法轻易被冲洗干净——它真的需要手动清洁。”

The most important place to remove it from is not in fact the teeth， but the gumline. This is where microbes are best able to invade the gum tissue and cause inflammation. In fact， “brushing your teeth” is something of a misnomer. “Think of brushing your gumline， rather than the teeth themselves，” says Hirschfeld. “The teeth will then be brushed automatically.”

最该清洁的部位实际上不是牙齿，而是牙龈。这是微生物最容易入侵牙龈组织并引发炎症的地方。实际上，“刷牙”这个词有点用词不当。赫希菲尔德说：“刷牙该刷的是牙龈，而不是牙齿本身。在刷牙龈时牙齿也会自然而然地被刷到。”

Brushing too hard， especially with a firmer-bristled brush， can cause damage to the gums. Small tears in the soft tissue caused by overzealous brushing are an opportunity for bacteria to enter the bloodstream.

刷牙太用力，特别是使用硬毛牙刷，可能会对牙龈造成创伤。过度用力刷牙造成的软组织小撕裂让细菌有了进入血液的机会。

Is it better to brush your teeth before or after breakfast？ It depends on what you’ve had to eat. Acidic food and drink—such as citrus fruit， fruit juice and coffee—would be a reason to brush before rather than after breakfast.

早餐前还是早餐后刷牙更好？这取决于你早餐吃什么。如果你早餐要享用酸性食物和饮料，如柑橘类水果、果汁和咖啡，那么你应该在早餐前刷牙，而不是早餐后。

More important than the breakfast question is the evening brush， which also has a simpler answer： it should always be the last thing you do before bed. “Your saliva is your natural protective mechanism， inhibiting bacterial growth and tooth decay，” says Nigel Carter， chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation in the UK. “The saliva flow reduces overnight， so that’s why it’s very important that all the plaque is cleared away before you sleep.”

相比早餐前还是早餐后刷牙的问题，晚上刷牙的问题更重要，答案也更简单：刷牙永远应该是睡觉前做的最后一件事。英国口腔健康基金会首席执行官奈杰尔·卡特说：“你的唾液是你的天然保护机制，可以抑制细菌生长和蛀牙。唾液流动在夜间减少，这就是在睡觉前清除所有牙菌斑尤为重要的原因。”

Spitting out toothpaste when you’re finished but refraining from rinsing helps the fluoride to hang around the teeth longer， for additional protection.

刷完牙后吐出残余牙膏和泡沫但不要漱口，可以帮助氟化物在牙齿上停留更长时间，从而为牙齿提供额外的保护。

Word Bank

respondent /rɪ'spɒndənt/ n. 回答问题的人；（尤指）调查对象

manually /'mænjʊəli/ adv. 手动地；用手

misnomer /'mɪs'nəʊmə（r）/ n. 用词不当

decay /dɪ'keɪ/ n. 腐烂

refrain /rɪ'freɪn/ v. 克制；节制；避免