So You Brush Your Teeth?

All good Americans brush their teeth, but most of them do it wrong. So says the American Dental Association, which should know. Toothbrushing, announced the Association's Journal last week, should begin as follows: "Keeping the handle firmly grasped in front of the nose, place the brushhead on the chewing surfaces of the upper or lower back teeth. . . . Then, lifting the brush, hit down on the teeth six or seven times, with a punching action."

Some other advice on procedure and equipment:

P: Having given the chewing surfaces a good stiff bristle-battering, the outsides of teeth and gums should be brushed gently straight up & down, section by section, about six strokes to a section, all around the mouth. Finally, the inner surfaces of the teeth should be cleaned with a "push and pull action, comparable to that of fiddling. . . ."

P: Brush after every meal, or at least after breakfast or lunch. Use two or three brushes, alternately.

P: A good brush has a head no more than an inch long, a straight handle, medium-hard bristles of even length, only six tufts on a side.

P: A good dentifrice "is not gritty and does not contain an acid." Grit test: use a nickel to rub some dentifrice on a piece of glass; if the glass is not scratched, the teeth presumably will not be.

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