Oral Hygiene
Under development....
Having good oral hygiene is one of the easiest and best things you can do for your body. Everything in your body is connected and having rotten teeth means more that ugly teeth. It can have repercussions on the rest of the body.
Whether you have rotten teeth or good teeth, you can benefit from better brushing & flossing. It prevents cavities and gum disease caused by a variety of bacteria. I have a lot of patients who only brushes but flosses infrequently. What I often see are cavities inbetween the teeth where the toothbrush can't reach. Flossing will help prevent these side cavities along with giving you better gum health.
Gingivitis is where your gum bleeds easily but no irreversible damage has been done. Periodontitis involves permanent damage to the gums. See where the gum has receded, leaving toothy teeth behind. Teeth becomes more sensitive due to exposed roots and are more likely to be loose with less gums & jaw bone holding them in place. I've had patients whom barely had a cavity be recommended for extractions due to gum disease. Gum disease can cause systemic problems as the bacteria can travel through your blood stream. However, it is easily preventable with regular brushing & flossing.
Brushing Technique
Proper brushing starts with taking your time to do it right. Two minutes for a full set of teeth. A smaller toothbrush head is preferable because it's easier to brush the back teeth where space is tight and it forces you to concentrate on cleaning each tooth at a time. All surfaces should feel the touch of the brush. A 45 degree angle allows the bristles to clean along the gumline. Small circles along the bristles to reach all the nooks & crannies instead of skipping over them with large fast strokes. Refrain from using a stiff toothbrush or hard toothbrushing - hard does not equal clean. You end up wearing away the protective enamel layer on your teeth and splayed out bristles don't clean where you want it to.
Manuel vs. Electric
Good technique is required for both. You can do as clean a job with a regular toothbrush as an electric with good technique. However, an electric toothbrush can give a big cleanliness boost if you tend to rush because it does a lot more rotations per second than you can by hand. The caveat is it only cleans where you tell it to. An electric toothbrush is no more likely than a regular brush to clean a wisdom tooth if you skip the tooth. An electric toothbrush is also very suitable if you have problems with fine motor control. It has a easier to hold big handle and it does small circles for you.
Flossing
There are many types of floss. Choose whatever works for you. Tight, crowded teeth should try Glide, a waxed flossed. Regular teeth can use multithreaded floss which does a better job at catching and removing plaque. Braces? Bridges? There's floss threaders and superfloss with pre-stiffen ends for going under the wires/bridges. Proxybrushes are a great option for large spaces in between teeth. The bristles clean out the sides very well and pushes large chucks of food out. There's also pre-threaded floss on small handles or big handles if it's awkward using string floss.
Waterjets and Mouthwashes
If flossing just don't work, try a waterjet. There are many brands and a large price range. Waterpik is a popular brand that I often see on sale at Costco or Rite-Aid. It comes with many attachment tips depending on whether you have deep or shallow pockets or if you have braces. I like to use mouthwash with mine but regular water works well as well. Sonicare has a new Air Flosser that I've also seen at Costco. The whole family can use it and there are no replacement tips to purchase so it's a good investment. Most mouthwashes help prevent gum disease and not so much against cavities. Fluoride is the ingredient to look for if you want to strengthen your teeth against cavities such as in Act mouthwash.
Having good oral hygiene is one of the easiest and best things you can do for your body. Everything in your body is connected and having rotten teeth means more that ugly teeth. It can have repercussions on the rest of the body.
Whether you have rotten teeth or good teeth, you can benefit from better brushing & flossing. It prevents cavities and gum disease caused by a variety of bacteria. I have a lot of patients who only brushes but flosses infrequently. What I often see are cavities inbetween the teeth where the toothbrush can't reach. Flossing will help prevent these side cavities along with giving you better gum health.
Gingivitis is where your gum bleeds easily but no irreversible damage has been done. Periodontitis involves permanent damage to the gums. See where the gum has receded, leaving toothy teeth behind. Teeth becomes more sensitive due to exposed roots and are more likely to be loose with less gums & jaw bone holding them in place. I've had patients whom barely had a cavity be recommended for extractions due to gum disease. Gum disease can cause systemic problems as the bacteria can travel through your blood stream. However, it is easily preventable with regular brushing & flossing.
Brushing Technique
Proper brushing starts with taking your time to do it right. Two minutes for a full set of teeth. A smaller toothbrush head is preferable because it's easier to brush the back teeth where space is tight and it forces you to concentrate on cleaning each tooth at a time. All surfaces should feel the touch of the brush. A 45 degree angle allows the bristles to clean along the gumline. Small circles along the bristles to reach all the nooks & crannies instead of skipping over them with large fast strokes. Refrain from using a stiff toothbrush or hard toothbrushing - hard does not equal clean. You end up wearing away the protective enamel layer on your teeth and splayed out bristles don't clean where you want it to.
Manuel vs. Electric
Good technique is required for both. You can do as clean a job with a regular toothbrush as an electric with good technique. However, an electric toothbrush can give a big cleanliness boost if you tend to rush because it does a lot more rotations per second than you can by hand. The caveat is it only cleans where you tell it to. An electric toothbrush is no more likely than a regular brush to clean a wisdom tooth if you skip the tooth. An electric toothbrush is also very suitable if you have problems with fine motor control. It has a easier to hold big handle and it does small circles for you.
Flossing
There are many types of floss. Choose whatever works for you. Tight, crowded teeth should try Glide, a waxed flossed. Regular teeth can use multithreaded floss which does a better job at catching and removing plaque. Braces? Bridges? There's floss threaders and superfloss with pre-stiffen ends for going under the wires/bridges. Proxybrushes are a great option for large spaces in between teeth. The bristles clean out the sides very well and pushes large chucks of food out. There's also pre-threaded floss on small handles or big handles if it's awkward using string floss.
Waterjets and Mouthwashes
If flossing just don't work, try a waterjet. There are many brands and a large price range. Waterpik is a popular brand that I often see on sale at Costco or Rite-Aid. It comes with many attachment tips depending on whether you have deep or shallow pockets or if you have braces. I like to use mouthwash with mine but regular water works well as well. Sonicare has a new Air Flosser that I've also seen at Costco. The whole family can use it and there are no replacement tips to purchase so it's a good investment. Most mouthwashes help prevent gum disease and not so much against cavities. Fluoride is the ingredient to look for if you want to strengthen your teeth against cavities such as in Act mouthwash.