Practicing good oral hygiene is important, because it keeps plaque from building up on your teeth. Most of us have heard the word plaque before—the nasty stuff that build up on your teeth that can cause gum disease—but how many of us take all the necessary oral hygiene precautions to protect our teeth? Unfortunately, quite a few less, so what is Good Oral Hygiene? And is it difficult to maintain?

To maintain good oral hygiene you will need to do three things on a daily basis and spoiler alert—none of them are that difficult:

Toothbrush at the ready!

• Using a toothbrush to brush back and forth gently in short strokes.
• Brush the inner, outer, and chewing tooth surfaces.
• Use the front bristles of the brush to gently clean between your front teeth.
• Brush your tongue to remove built up bacteria and to help freshen your breath.
• Be sure to repeat this a minimum of twice a day (when you get up and before you go to bed).
• Tooth brushes wear out over time and become less effective at cleaning your teeth. Be sure to replace your tooth brush or tooth brush head (in the instance of using an electric toothbrush) every other month.

Grab that floss and have at it!

• Guide the floss between your teeth by gently sliding it back and forth.
• Upon reaching the gum line, curve the floss against one tooth and proceed to slide it into the space between the gum and the tooth.
• Gently slide the floss up and down the side of the tooth.
• Do the same for all the teeth in your mouth.

Rinse, Rinse, Rinse!

• Acquire mouthwash.
• Swish mouthwash around for 30 seconds before spitting into the sink.

If you put these three tips into daily practice and follow up with a teeth cleaning with your local dentist at least once a year, you will undoubtedly have Good Oral Hygiene.