With all the marketing around these days, it is difficult for patients to know what is important and what is not regarding oral hygiene. The most important aspect of your oral hygiene is cleaning the food debris and plaque off your teeth regularly and thoroughly with a toothbrush. Other aspects, such as type of toothbrush, type of toothpaste or mouthwash are much less important and often only confuse the issue.
The aim of tooth brushing is to physically remove all the plaque/food debris off every surface of every tooth. At the same time toothpaste will be
applied to the teeth so that the fluoride in the toothpaste can strengthen them.
The way that you actually brush is less important than the fact that you are thorough i.e. brush all the tooth surfaces and gum margins very well.
A manual brush with a small head and medium bristles is fine but many people find that electric brushes make it easier to get a good result.
The easiest way to be thorough with your tooth brushing is:
After brushing, it is best to just spit out the toothpaste without rinsing. This allows some of the toothpaste to stay around the teeth for a
prolonged period to help strengthen the teeth.
When you think you have finished brushing take time to inspect the teeth and gums in the mirror - if there are any areas of the gums that
are red and bleeding, these need to be brushed more thoroughly to prevent this inflammation in the future. Any visible plaque/food debris
still remaining on the teeth must be removed by further brushing.
Awkwardly positioned teeth, gaps and wisdom teeth are often difficult to clean with a normal toothbrush. For these areas an "inter-space brush"
is useful. It has a normal handle but a very small bunch of bristles at the tip and is easier to get into those difficult-to-reach areas.
To clean between the teeth, either floss (for very tight gaps) or "inter-dental brushes" (for wider gaps) are needed. Inter-dental
brushes (sometimes called "tepe" brushes) are very small brushes that can be pushed between the teeth and are quite easy to use. Ask your
dentist/hygienist which size you will need.
If the above special cleaning aids are recommended by your dentist or hygienist, they must be used at least once a day (usually in the evening when
you have most time) and will add a few more minutes to your tooth brushing routine. You should use these aids before you go on to using your normal brush.
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Last updated: 28 November 2023