A toothpick is a tool that we often use in our lives to remove food debris from our mouths. Toothpicks have become an essential item in many homes and are often a necessity at the dinner table when we dine out. For many middle-aged and elderly people, toothpicks are a must-have item because of the large gaps between teeth, which are particularly prone to food ingrowth. However, if I ask people now, how to use toothpicks correctly? I’m afraid not many people would be able to answer correctly. So how do you use a toothpick properly? Here, I will briefly talk about the correct use of toothpicks for you. 1, we need to learn to choose toothpicks. Toothpicks to choose a hard texture, not easy to break, smooth surface, no burrs and cross-sectional flat round or triangular toothpicks, material can be wood, bamboo or plastic, do not use unclean small wooden sticks, wire, large head needle or matchstick to replace the toothpicks. 2, toothpicks are best used in cases where there is a gap between the teeth. Use the toothpick to enter the gap at an angle of 45 degrees with the tip facing the occlusal surface, scrape the tooth surface along the side edge of the toothpick, especially in the concave root surface and root bifurcation, use the toothpick tip and side edge to scrape and polish the tooth surface. If there is food fiber embedded, you can do buccal and lingual piercing action to pick out the food, and then rinse your mouth. 3, if the gingival papilla is normal, the toothpick is limited to the gingival sulcus or above, do not press the toothpick into the interdental papilla area, because this will artificially form a gap between the teeth, making it easier to embed food, over time, a vicious circle will be formed (after the plugging of teeth, flossing, after flossing easier to plug teeth).