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Gums Brushing Use a good nylon densely packed head of soft/medium filaments. Use a small pea sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. Point the bristles towards the gum margin and use a small vibratory action with only a little pressure. Think of it more as massaging the gums rather than brushing the teeth. This vibratory action combined with the detergent in the paste will break up the plaque and allow it to wash away with rinsing. Flossing Take a length of dental floss/tape about 30cm, wrap the ends around your middle fingers until there is about 10cm between them. Turn your hands over so that the floss lies over the right thumb and left index finger leaving about 3 cm between them. Guide the tape gently between the teeth using a slight sawing motion. Do not force the floss as this could injure your gums. Take the floss loosely under the gum and form a C shape against the tooth, apply a little pressure against the tooth and slide the floss towards the tip of the tooth, thus scraping the plaque off. Repeat this on the other side of the space and continue around all of the teeth. As the floss becomes soiled move onto a clean part. Spiral Brushes Check with your Hygienist or Dentist as to which size of spiral brush you should be using. The bristles on the spiral must be big enough to apply pressure to the tooth surface and the gum. Take the brush into the space at right angles to the teeth and use a vibratory action to manoeuvre the brush into the space, once in the space then use a back and forward action with some pressure on the gum. Initially with all these techniques you may experience some bleeding of the gums, this is due to the fact that you are getting to areas you have not reached before. With time and improved technique this will stop.