How to Floss Properly

During your routine cleaning, if Dr. Lis Bradley, DDS is telling you that you need to floss more, well then you better start listening to her.  Flossing has many benefits, such as removing food particles from your teeth that can cause bad breath and periodontal disease. However, like brushing your teeth, there is a correct way to floss. Instead of flossing as if you’re in a rush, next time you’re in front of the sink, try utilizing this technique.

The correct flossing technique goes something like this:

• Wind 18 inches of floss around middle fingers of each hand. Pinch floss between thumbs and index fingers, leaving a one-to-two-inch length in between. Use thumbs to direct floss between upper teeth.


• Keep a one-to-two-inch length of floss controlled between fingers. Use index fingers to glide floss between contacts of the lower teeth.


• Gently guide floss between the teeth by using a zig-zag motion and be sure to contour floss around the side of the tooth.

If you have questions or concerns about preventive oral care, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at the practice, visit www.lisbradleydds.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Lis Bradley, DDS in Brentwood, TN, call 615-778-0810.

The Proper Toothbrush Technique

Many of us have been brushing our teeth for as long as we can remember, but did you know that there are a right way and a wrong way to brush your teeth? If you aren’t brushing for at least two minutes, twice a day, then your oral hygiene routine may need a little bit of work. Dr. Lis Bradley, DDS is more than happy to give you a lesson in home oral care, but until your next appointment, she’d like to advise that you implement the proper toothbrush technique.

• Place your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle against the gums.


• Move the brush back and forth in a circular motion in short (tooth-wide) strokes.


• Brush the outer tooth surfaces, the inner tooth surfaces, and the chewing surfaces of the teeth.


• Use the tip of the brush to clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth, using a gentle up-and-down stroke.


• Brush your tongue to remove bacteria.

If you have questions or concerns about preventive oral care, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at the practice, visit www.lisbradleydds.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Lis Bradley, DDS in Brentwood, TN, call 615-778-0810.

Beware of Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

At Dr. Bradley’s Brentwood practice, we’re dedicated to educating our patients about the importance of preventive care. First-time parents of young children are often eager to learn all they can about how to maintain their children’s oral health, and one of the main things they need to watch out for is Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.

Dentists use the term Baby Bottle Tooth Decay to describe a pattern of tooth decay on the fronts of babies’ incisors. It is caused by prolonged exposure to sugar. While many people understand that sugar increases the risk of tooth decay and avoid giving babies sugary drinks such as juice because of this, small amounts of sugar can also be dangerous if they are allowed to stick to the teeth for a long time. Babies often are given bottles of milk or formula to drink from for hours, during which they’re not drinking water, and their teeth remain covered in sugar as a result.

Caregivers should take away milk bottles after about fifteen minutes and make sure babies have plenty of water to rinse their mouths with. Dentists and nutritionists agree that it is best for children to transfer to cups around the time of their first birthday, and only after that should they be given drinks with higher amounts of sugar.

Lis Bradley, DDS, operates at 8112 Isabella Ln, Suite 101, Brentwood, Tennessee. To schedule an appointment, visit LisBradleyDDS.com or call 615-778-0810.

Types of Teeth

While all teeth need to be cared for through regular brushing and flossing, teeth serve a number of different purposes and can encounter different problems. We at Dr. Lis Bradley’s Brentwood office thought our patients might like knowing exactly what their teeth are doing and what we do for them.

Each jaw naturally has sixteen teeth, although most people have had at least a few of them extracted without replacements by the time they are adults. The two front teeth in each jaw and the pair on either side of them are called incisors. They are used to tear food and because people use them to form consonants, they are crucial to speech. On each side of the incisors are canines, also known as cuspids or eyeteeth, of which there are four in all. These pointy teeth are used for piercing. They occupy the point of maximum change of curvature in the jaw and are important for stabilizing the other teeth, but the upper ones commonly get stuck while erupting.

Behind the canines are two sets of premolars, and beyond them are three sets of molars. These are the large teeth used for chewing. The molars in the lower jaw often have two roots, and the ones in the upper jaw often have three. The backmost molars are known as wisdom teeth. They are the final teeth to erupt and also frequently get stuck.

Lis Bradley, DDS, operates at 8112 Isabella Ln, Suite 101, Brentwood, Tennessee. To schedule an appointment, visit LisBradleyDDS.com or call 615-778-0810.