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| The prevention of dental disease should
be one of the most important aspects of any dental practice. The most often dental diseases are teeth decay and gum disease.
They both start asymptomatic and progress if left untreated. Both of them will eventually lead to the tooth loss. Among the other things, one of the major factors
contributing to the dental problem is the bacteria, which stays on the teeth and the gums in the form of plaque. Plaque is soft sticky substance that accumulates on teeth; composed of bacteria and food debris due to inadequate dental
hygiene. Removal of plaque (and bacteria, contained in plaque) on a daily basis can prevent from a lot of problems. | |
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Home Oral Hygeine
In order to successfully treat any disease, one should try to eliminate the reasons. And as we
talked before the main reason for gum disease is accumulated bacteria. But we cannot live in sterile environment. So we have
to try to reduce plaque and tartar formation to minimum. That’s why your good home oral
hygiene is step number one in prevention and treatment of gum disease.
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We all brush our teeth, but do we do it right? The
experienced dental hygienists will work closely with you to choose the right brushing methods for you, and
will advise you on the tooth brush and others hygiene tools you need to use.
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I will try to review the most common hygiene techniques and also will
try to review mostly recommended tools, used in the home hygiene. I have placed links to the products I, which i found
to be useful in maintaining adequate oral hygiene. You can use this links to buy directly from Amazon.com stores or you can
find most of them in any pharmacy
Bass Brushing Method
The most recommended brushing
technique is modified Bass cleaning technique. It has proven its worth both for people with healthy gums
and for gingivitis and periodontitis patients. This technique concentrates on cleaning at the gum margins. The toothbrush
must be soft, so as not to damage the gums when positioning the toothbrush.
Outer surfaces:Place the toothbrush on the gums at an
angle of 45°. Always start at the back.
Inner surfaces: Small circular movements (vibratory motion). |
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Front
teeth:
Place the toothbrush in an upright position behind the front teeth.
Lastly, brush the chewing surfaces using to and from vibratory motions, from the back to the front
Electric Tooth Brush
In recent years the electric tooth brushes became very popular. The advantage of the electric tooth brush is it's ability
to move the
bristles at
a much faster rate than the human hand can possibly move, therefore allowing much better and thorough cleaning, compare it
to a regular tooth brush.
There are two
main types of electric toothbrushes: One that oscillates, meaning the bristles rotate in one direction and then the other, and then there is the Sonicare,
which vibrates at a very fast pace. Both types of these brushes do the job and provide better and deeper cleaning than the
traditional tooth brush. It is a matter of preference which tooth brush to use.
Below I have placed few links to electronic
brushes in Amazon store.
Flossing
Technique
Wind 18" of floss around middle fingers of each hand. Pinch
floss between thumbs and index fingers, leaving a 1"- 2" length in between. Use thumbs to direct floss between upper teeth.
Keep a 1" - 2" length of floss taut between fingers. Use
index fingers to guide floss between contacts of the lower teeth.
Gently guide floss between the teeth by using a zig-zag
motion. DO NOT SNAP FLOSS BETWEEN YOUR TEETH. Contour floss around the side of the tooth.
Slide floss up and down against the tooth surface and under
the gum line.
Floss
each tooth thoroughly with a clean section of floss.
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Flossing under the bridges
But what if you have dental bridges or connected crowns and you can't get in between the
teeth with floss?
Bridge aid dental floss threader will help you here. You thread a floss into special plastic
"needle" and gently push this "needle" between the teeth under the crown connector pulling it from the
inner side of the tooth. After you have floss in place you slide it up and down and side to side against the tooth.
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Even more flossing
There are
a lot of helpful tools for flossing available from different manufactures. I placed links to a few products which a lot
of patients find helpful in maintaining the oral hygiene.
In choosing the "cleaning tools" you have to
remember that the idea in gum disease prevention is to remove as much food debris and plaque from around the tooth. Just
with the tooth brush you can not reach in between the teeth. Leaving food remnants around the tooth will lead to gum inflammation
and developing and progression of gum disease.
Find the most convinience tools for yourself to reach in aech and
every area of your mouth
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This will HELP
But how
do you know if you brushed well enough?
Disclosing solutions coming to help. I love 2 tone disclosing solution. After
brushing your teeth rinse your mouth for a few seconds. Older plaque stains blue
while newer plaque stains red.
This will show you the
spots you have missed and help you to improve you home oral hygiene
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Inter-proximal Brushes
Inter-proximal
or interdental brushes are the the great tools in removing tartar from between the teeth. It should be used by people
who has some bone lose. You shouldn't use them in the areas where the don't pass freely.
These brushes
are manufactured by different companies. They come in two major designs: the handle with brush- great for the home use, as
the long handle allows easy access to back teeth. With this design yoy have a long handle and small brushes which snap to
to the handle. As brush wears of you put the new brush on to the handle.
The other type is the travel size
brush. They have small handle with the brush firmly attached to it. You chand=ge the whole brush as it wears of.
The brushes itself come in different sizes and can be tapered or cylindrical. Cylindrical type is easier to fit in smaller
spaces.
The regular tooth brush or electric tooth brush can not reach in between the teeth, so cleaning in between
the teeth as important in maintaining good oral health and in prevention of gum disease, as a regular tooth brush.
Remember: if the brush don't easily fit in between the teeth do not force it! You can try either
smaller size cylindrical brush or you do not use the brush in this particular space!
I
have placed a couple of links for such brushes below. If you want to see more choices click here for dental convenience store.
Keeping it clean is the main idea in preventing gum disease!!!!!!!!!
Keeping it clean is the first step in treating gum disease!!!!!!
Keeping
it cleanis the first step, and probably the most important one in making your smile beautiful.
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We strongly believe that prevention and good oral hygiene is one of the most
important aspects in maintaining your oral health. Our experienced hygienists will work closely with you,
providing you with customized home care instructions, advising on your special needs and doing everything
possible in early recognitions of your problems and preventing of new ones. You will be advised on your personal needs and
special hygiene accessories for you home use. If you have gum disease we will evaluate it, and we will do our best to treat
it conservatively. We believe that surgery should be the last resort.
Timely office visits and prophylactic cleanings should prevent you from developing gum disease. You should be aware of
the following symptoms: foul smell, red and/or bleeding gums, high sensitivity, mobility of the teeth.
If you have any of these symptoms you should immediately seek professional help.
During your routine dental check up appoitment we will do a full examination of your teeth and necessary
X-rays. We will advise you if you are in need of any dental treatment. If you have a small cavity, it is
in your best interest to treat it in it’s early stages.
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