Dr. Jiten P. Gohel
Designing Smiles For Life
Family, Cosmetic, & Implant Dentistry
Oral Health
How to Brush Your Teeth
The first step is to choose a good toothbrush. You
always want to use a soft brush with a small
head. A soft brush is hard enough to remove
plaque and soft enough not to damage your teeth
or gum. The next issue is to choose a good
toothpaste. In general any toothpaste that
contains Fluoride will do the job, unless you have
a special need that is determined by your dentist.
Two of the best brands of toothpastes are Colgate
Total and Crest Multicare.
There are many different techniques for brushing
your teeth but one of the most popular ones is
described here: Hold the brush with a 45 degree angle toward the teeth and the gum.
Gently press against the gum so the tips of the bristles go in between the gum and the
teeth.
Then apply lateral vibration for a few times and roll down the brush sweep the plaque
away from the teeth and the gum. Repeat this motion 6 to 10 times and move on to the
next area of 2 to 3 teeth. If your mouth is full of foam, spit out and continue brushing.
Your brushing is completed when you have brushed all the surfaces of your teeth and
not when your mouth is full!
On chewing surfaces, short strokes will work best to get the plaque out of the grooves
and pits. Also when brushing the front teeth from inside, hold your brush vertically to be
able to reach the teeth better.
The first rule of brushing is to start from a specific location and work your way to the
opposite side and all the way through the whole mouth so that you end where you
started. This way you won't miss any area. Also usually a pea size of tooth paste is
enough. A good brushing should at least take 2 minutes and ideally around 4 minutes.
As far as frequency of brushing is concerned, ideally you want to brush your teeth after
each meal. But if you can t, brush at least twice a day after breakfast and before going
to bed.
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How to Floss Your Teeth
The surfaces that are between teeth are not
accessible to brush; Therefore, the best way to
clean them is with flossing. The frequency of
flossing is like brushing and ideally after each
meal, though one time a day (before going to bed)
is the minimum necessary.
To start, cut a piece of dental floss (approximately
2 feet). Wrap both sides of the floss around your
middle fingers. Using your index and thumb move
the floss in between all your teeth one by one.
When flossing, make sure you are not cutting your gum. The goal is to
clean the teeth surfaces and not the gum. In each space in between the
teeth, press the floss against each tooth (hug the tooth) and gently move it
back and forth and up and down and then move to the opposite surface of
the adjacent tooth.
Electric VS Manual Tooth Brush
There have been multiple studies comparing the
effectiveness of manual brushes as opposed to
electric brushes.
Although not all the electric brushes are the same,
in conclusion of all these studies it is fair to say
that in general electric brushes are more effective
in controlling the plaque than manual brushes.
Theoretically you could do a very good brushing
with a regular hand brush but the movements of an electric brush makes
the task easier and more efficient. Also, some electric brushes (Sonicare)
have sonic vibration that is difficult to mimic with a hand brush!
Other electric brushes like Oral-B and Rotadent have small heads that help
you reach hard to reach areas of your mouth. This aspect is more important
when you are talking about somebody with orthodontic braces or a history
of gum disease.
Bad Breath
There are a few different causes for bad breath. It
ranges from stomach problems to diets and teeth
problems. Most of the causes can be found in the
mouth, they are:
1- Tongue (when bacteria in grows between the
papilla)
2- Teeth cavities (especially when food particles
get stuck in them)
3- Gum diseases
4- Extraction sites during healing
5- Dentures when not cleaned properly
6-Alcohol and tobacco
If you or someone you know is concerned about bad breath, the step is a
dental check up. Your dentist will be able to confirm or rule out teeth or first
mouth as the source of bad breath.
When the reason is found, treatment will be explained by your dentist. If the
source of the bad breath is your mouth there is little chance that mouth
washes or mints can treat the problem. They usually mask the problem for a
short period of time. They can even sometimes make the situation worse
(mouthwashes that contain alcohol cause dry mouth and that usually makes
the bad breath worse).
These are a few other, non-dental reasons that cause bad breath:
1- Sore throat
2- Tonsillitis
3- Some foods
4- Infection of air passages.
Following a good oral hygiene routine and getting regular check ups with
your dentist are best ways of preventing bad breath.
Dental Health & Your Diet
Sugar is the main cause of dental decay when
there is bacteria present. More important than the
amount of sugar you take is the frequency of it.
Probably the worst thing you can do to your teeth
is to hold a soda and have a sip every few minutes
during a long period of time; the same is true for
snacking. It is recommended that if you want to
have a snack or a soda or juice it is better to have
it after food, as dessert or have it in one sitting.
Eating or drinking something sweet during a long period of time creates a
constant supply of sugar for bacteria that cause tooth decay!
It is important to know all the sources of sugar. It is not just everything that
is sweet but anything that can turn to sugar like pieces of bread. Cutting
down your sugar intake is good for cavity prevention as well as general
health.
The best way to prevent cavities is to prevent the sugar from staying next to
your teeth. Brushing after eating sugar, rinsing your mouth with Fluoride
mouth wash or chewing sugarless gum can help. But nothing has the effect
of avoiding sugar!
Is there any kind of food that prevents tooth decay? Well, not really. Some
people believed that chewing foods like apple and carrots may have some
plaque removal effect, but they still contain some sugar so any advantage
of them is not clear.
Another group of food that causes significant damage to teeth structure is
acidic foods. Things like lime, lemon and grapefruit, if in frequent contact
with teeth, can cause serious irreversible damage (erosion) to your teeth.
Fluoride & Dental Decay Prevention
Many years ago scientists started to notice that
children who were born and raised in areas with
natural fluoride in drinking water had less cavities
than children in other areas.
Fluoride that is absorbed by your body when teeth
were forming (during mother s pregnancy to early
childhood) integrates into the structure of enamel
and makes it stronger.
After teeth eruption fluoride that is inside your
toothpaste or mouthwash, or what your dentist places on your teeth still
have a positive effect on your teeth. It strengthens the enamel and reduces
the chance of tooth decay.
If you have children and live in an area that has no Fluoride in its drinking
water you should consult your dentist and physician about Fluoride tablets
that are available for children.
Dental Sealants
Sealants are thin layers of resin that are placed on
the pits and fissures and grooves of (usually)
molars to prevent decay on these surfaces Majority
of decay on back teeth starts on grooves and pits of
chewing surfaces, especially during the first few
years after their eruption. Sealing these surfaces
with composite resins prevents these kinds of
decay.
Sealants are one of the most effective methods of
preventing decay on the surfaces where they are
places. Although it is still a possibility that decay may happen on surfaces in between
the teeth, sealants significantly reduce the overall chance of having cavities.
