How can brushing your teeth too hard damage your smile. What are the proper techniques for effective yet gentle tooth brushing. Why is using the right toothbrush important for maintaining oral health.

Understanding the Risks of Overbrushing

Many people believe that brushing their teeth vigorously is the key to maintaining good oral hygiene. However, this misconception can lead to serious dental problems. Overbrushing, or brushing too hard, can cause significant damage to both your teeth and gums.

Enamel Erosion: A Silent Threat

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, but it’s not invincible. Aggressive brushing can gradually wear away this protective layer, leading to several issues:

• Increased tooth sensitivity
• Higher risk of cavities
• Yellowing of teeth as the underlying dentin becomes exposed

Can enamel regenerate once it’s worn away? Unfortunately, enamel cannot repair itself once it has been significantly damaged. This makes prevention through proper brushing techniques crucial for maintaining long-term oral health.

Gum Recession: A Visible Consequence

Overbrushing doesn’t just affect your teeth; it can also harm your gums. Aggressive brushing can cause the gum tissue to recede, exposing the sensitive tooth roots. This can lead to:

• Aesthetic changes to your smile
• Increased tooth sensitivity
• Higher risk of decay on exposed root surfaces

Is gum recession reversible? While minor gum recession might be addressed through improved oral hygiene habits, significant recession often requires professional intervention, such as gum grafting procedures.

Signs You’re Brushing Too Hard

Recognizing the signs of overbrushing is crucial for protecting your oral health. Here are some indicators that you might be applying too much pressure when brushing:

• Frayed or splayed toothbrush bristles
• Sore or bleeding gums after brushing
• Increased tooth sensitivity
• Visibly receding gumline
• Teeth appearing longer due to exposed roots

How quickly should a toothbrush show signs of wear? A toothbrush used with proper technique should maintain its shape for about three months. If you notice significant wear within a shorter period, it’s likely you’re brushing too aggressively.

Proper Brushing Techniques for Optimal Oral Health

Adopting the right brushing technique is essential for maintaining healthy teeth and gums without causing damage. Here are some key tips for effective and gentle brushing:

1. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush
2. Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle to your gums
3. Use gentle, circular motions
4. Brush for at least two minutes, twice a day
5. Don’t forget to brush your tongue

Why is brushing at a 45-degree angle important? This angle allows the bristles to reach slightly under the gumline, effectively removing plaque without causing damage to the gum tissue.

The Role of Pressure in Effective Brushing

Contrary to popular belief, applying more pressure doesn’t lead to cleaner teeth. In fact, gentle brushing is more effective at removing plaque and food particles without causing harm. A good rule of thumb is to use only enough pressure to feel the bristles against your gums without causing discomfort.

Choosing the Right Toothbrush

Selecting an appropriate toothbrush is crucial for maintaining good oral hygiene without risking damage to your teeth and gums. Here are some factors to consider:

Manual vs. Electric Toothbrushes

Both manual and electric toothbrushes can be effective when used correctly. Electric toothbrushes often have built-in pressure sensors to help prevent overbrushing. However, manual toothbrushes can be just as effective when proper technique is applied.

Bristle Softness

Dentists generally recommend soft-bristled toothbrushes for most people. Medium and hard bristles can be too abrasive, especially when combined with aggressive brushing techniques.

Why are soft bristles preferred? Soft bristles are gentle on tooth enamel and gum tissue while still being effective at removing plaque. They also conform better to the contours of teeth, reaching into crevices where plaque can hide.

The Importance of Regular Dental Check-ups

While proper at-home oral care is essential, regular dental check-ups play a crucial role in maintaining optimal oral health. During these visits, your dentist can:

• Identify early signs of enamel erosion or gum recession
• Provide personalized advice on brushing techniques
• Perform professional cleanings to remove stubborn plaque and tartar
• Address any developing dental issues before they become serious

How often should you visit the dentist? Most dental professionals recommend check-ups every six months for the average person. However, some individuals may need more frequent visits based on their oral health status.

Complementary Oral Hygiene Practices

While brushing is a cornerstone of oral health, it’s not the only component of a comprehensive oral care routine. Incorporating these practices can enhance your overall dental hygiene:

Flossing: The Often Overlooked Essential

Flossing helps remove plaque and food particles from between teeth and along the gumline where your toothbrush can’t reach. Regular flossing can significantly reduce the risk of cavities and gum disease.

Mouthwash: A Supportive Tool

Using an antimicrobial mouthwash can help reduce plaque buildup and freshen breath. However, it’s important to note that mouthwash is not a substitute for brushing and flossing.

Diet and Oral Health

What you eat plays a significant role in your oral health. A diet rich in calcium and low in sugary and acidic foods can help protect your teeth from decay and erosion.

How does sugar affect oral health? Sugar interacts with bacteria in your mouth to produce acid, which can erode tooth enamel and lead to cavities. Limiting sugar intake and practicing good oral hygiene can help mitigate these effects.

Addressing Tooth Sensitivity from Overbrushing

If you’ve developed tooth sensitivity due to aggressive brushing, there are several steps you can take to alleviate discomfort and protect your teeth:

• Switch to a toothpaste designed for sensitive teeth
• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and gentle brushing technique
• Consider using a fluoride mouthwash to help strengthen enamel
• Avoid acidic foods and beverages that can exacerbate sensitivity
• Consult your dentist about professional treatments, such as fluoride varnishes or dental bonding

Can tooth sensitivity be reversed? While some degree of sensitivity may be permanent if significant enamel loss has occurred, many cases can be improved or managed effectively with proper care and treatment.

Educating Children on Proper Brushing Techniques

Instilling good oral hygiene habits in children from an early age is crucial for their long-term dental health. Here are some tips for teaching children to brush effectively without being too aggressive:

1. Demonstrate proper technique using a model or your own teeth
2. Use age-appropriate toothbrushes with soft bristles
3. Encourage gentle, circular motions rather than sawing back and forth
4. Make brushing fun with colorful toothbrushes or apps that time brushing sessions
5. Supervise brushing until children have developed good habits

At what age can children brush independently? Most children can brush their teeth effectively by themselves around age 7 or 8, but supervision and guidance may be needed until age 10 or 11 to ensure proper technique.

The Role of Parents in Oral Health Education

Parents play a crucial role in their children’s oral health. By modeling good brushing habits and making oral care a positive part of the daily routine, parents can set their children up for a lifetime of healthy smiles.

Technological Advancements in Oral Care

As dental research progresses, new technologies are emerging to help individuals maintain optimal oral health. Some recent innovations include:

• Smart toothbrushes with pressure sensors and real-time feedback
• Apps that track brushing habits and provide personalized recommendations
• Advanced electric toothbrushes with multiple cleaning modes
• Water flossers for more effective interdental cleaning

How effective are smart toothbrushes? While smart toothbrushes can provide valuable feedback and encourage better brushing habits, they are not essential for maintaining good oral health. Proper technique with a manual toothbrush can be just as effective.

The Future of Dental Care

Ongoing research in dental technology promises even more advancements in the future. From nanobots that can clean teeth at a microscopic level to regenerative treatments that can repair damaged enamel, the future of oral care looks bright.

Addressing Common Misconceptions About Tooth Brushing

There are several persistent myths about tooth brushing that can lead to improper oral care practices. Let’s debunk some of these misconceptions:

Myth: Harder Brushing Equals Cleaner Teeth

This is perhaps the most damaging myth about oral hygiene. Aggressive brushing doesn’t clean teeth more effectively; instead, it can cause enamel erosion and gum recession.

Myth: You Should Brush Immediately After Every Meal

While it’s important to brush regularly, brushing immediately after eating acidic foods can actually harm your enamel when it’s in a weakened state. It’s best to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before brushing.

Myth: Brushing Alone Is Sufficient for Oral Health

While brushing is crucial, it’s not enough on its own. Flossing, using mouthwash, and maintaining a healthy diet are all important components of a comprehensive oral care routine.

How often should you really brush your teeth? The American Dental Association recommends brushing twice a day for two minutes each time. More frequent brushing isn’t necessarily better and could lead to overbrushing.

The Connection Between Oral Health and Overall Well-being

Maintaining good oral health isn’t just about having a bright smile; it’s closely linked to your overall health. Poor oral hygiene has been associated with various health issues, including:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes complications
• Respiratory infections
• Pregnancy complications

How does oral health affect the rest of the body? The mouth can be a gateway for bacteria to enter the bloodstream, potentially causing inflammation and infection in other parts of the body. Additionally, some systemic diseases can manifest early signs in the mouth.

The Importance of a Holistic Approach to Health

Recognizing the connection between oral health and overall well-being underscores the importance of a holistic approach to healthcare. Regular dental check-ups, proper oral hygiene, and a healthy lifestyle all contribute to not just a healthy mouth, but a healthier body overall.

Seeking Professional Help for Overbrushing Damage

If you suspect that you’ve caused damage to your teeth or gums through overbrushing, it’s important to seek professional dental care. A dentist can assess the extent of the damage and recommend appropriate treatments, which may include:

• Desensitizing treatments for exposed tooth roots
• Gum grafting procedures for severe gum recession
• Bonding or veneers to protect weakened enamel
• Custom night guards to prevent further damage from grinding

Can dental damage from overbrushing be repaired? While some damage may be permanent, many issues can be addressed with modern dental techniques. Early intervention is key to preventing further damage and preserving oral health.

The Role of Dental Professionals in Education

Dentists and dental hygienists play a crucial role in educating patients about proper brushing techniques. Don’t hesitate to ask for a demonstration or advice during your next dental visit. These professionals can provide personalized recommendations based on your specific oral health needs.

Maintaining Long-term Oral Health

Achieving and maintaining good oral health is a lifelong journey. By adopting proper brushing techniques, using the right tools, and complementing your routine with other good oral hygiene practices, you can protect your smile for years to come. Remember these key points:

• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and gentle pressure
• Brush for two minutes, twice a day
• Floss daily to clean between teeth
• Visit your dentist regularly for check-ups and cleanings
• Be mindful of your diet and its impact on your teeth

What’s the most important factor in maintaining oral health? Consistency is key. Developing and sticking to a good oral care routine is more important than any single technique or product.

Adapting Your Oral Care Routine as You Age

As you age, your oral health needs may change. Medications, health conditions, and natural wear and tear can all affect your teeth and gums. Stay informed about these changes and be prepared to adapt your oral care routine accordingly, always in consultation with your dental professional.

The Harmful Effects of Brushing Your Teeth Too Hard

June 9, 2020

Are you serious about protecting oral hygiene? You may diligently use a mouthwash, floss once a day, and brush twice a day. You certainly deserve commendation for your good habits! However, there are cases in which individuals have become too enthusiastic about oral hygiene; they may apply too much pressure when they brush their teeth. A dentist in Waterbury is here to explain how overaggressive brushing can harm your smile and how you can apply proper brushing technique.

What Happens if You Brush Too Hard?

Brushing your teeth too hard can have two devastating consequences for your oral health:

• Premature wear and tear. Tooth enamel is very hard — in fact, it is the hardest substance in the human body. However, it can get worn away by overaggressive brushing. Applying too much pressure may slowly erode your enamel, which cannot repair itself once it suffers significant damage. You may experience increased dental sensitivity and a heightened risk of cavities.
• Gum recession. Brushing too hard can cause the gum tissue to shrink back. Not only will this affect the way your smile looks, but if the recession progresses far enough, the roots of your teeth may become exposed. Tooth roots are much more sensitive to outside stimuli and may be more prone to decay than the top portion of teeth because they have no enamel to protect them.

Proper Brushing Technique

If your toothbrush bristles become frayed very quickly, or your gums are often sore after your brush, there is a good chance that you are applying too much pressure. Here are some tips to help you properly clean your teeth:

• Make sure you are using a soft-bristled toothbrush.
• Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle against your teeth and use short, tooth-wide strokes.
• You should feel the bristles against your gums, but you should never “smash” them down.
• Holding your toothbrush in your non-dominant hand may help you to lighten up on the amount of pressure you apply.
• If you use an electric toothbrush, you do not have to press it hard against your teeth; just make sure it makes contact with them.
• The next time you receive a professional dental service, ask your dentist or dental hygienist for tips on how you can improve your at-home oral hygiene routine. They will be happy to give you some pointers.

Your toothbrush is one of your best friends in your efforts to maintain sound oral health… but only if you use it properly. Use the above tips to make sure you are being gentle on your smile.

About the Author

Dr. Luciano Marini is the leader of our team at Waterbury Smiles. He is a Waterbury native and has been in private practice since 1986. He provides a broad range of treatments, from preventive care to complex procedures. If you would like Dr. Marini’s help to improve or maintain your oral health, or if you would like to learn more about our practice, contact our team at 203-575-9097.

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Are You Brushing Your Teeth Too Hard?

When it comes to brushing your teeth, there is such a thing as proper technique. Brushing too hard — or using the wrong toothbrush — can damage your teeth and gums, leading to problems like enamel wear and receding gums, which can in turn lead to tooth sensitivity, says Gene Romo, DDS, a Chicago-based dentist and consumeradvisor for the American Dental Association (ADA). “People tend to brush aggressively, thinking it’s the only way they can get their teeth to feel clean and look whiter,” Dr.Romo says. “That’s counterproductive, because not only does it cause recession of your gums, but you’re also wearing away the white, glossy enamel on your teeth, making them look yellow and darker.” And when that happens, you’re putting yourself at risk for developing sensitive teeth.

Not sure if you’re brushing too hard? Take a look at your toothbrush. If you’ve been using it for three months or less, it should still appear relatively new. “If it looks beat up and flat, that’s a sign you’re brushing way too hard,” Romo says.

The Proper Way to Brush Your Teeth

It requires a lot of mindfulness, but you can change your hard-brushing ways, Romo says. Follow these tips to brush properly to help relieve tooth sensitivity and prevent damage to your teeth and gums:

Use a soft-bristled toothbrush. Choose one with the ADA seal and replace it every three months — or sooner if it frays.

Place your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your gums. That way, the bristles can reach and clean underneath your gumline, Romo says.

Gently move the brush back and forth. Use short, tooth-wide strokes to clean the outer, inner, and chewing surfaces of the teeth, the ADA recommends. (If you have a lot of gum recession, your dentist may recommend you try the roll technique instead, Romo says. ) If you’re using an electric toothbrush, let it do all the work and just lightly glide it over your teeth instead of pushing it against them. To make sure you’re using a gentle grip, try holding your toothbrush in your nondominant hand.

Slow down. Dentists recommend that you brush for two full minutes — 30 seconds in each quadrant of your mouth — twice a day. Use the timer on your phone or choose an electric toothbrush that alerts you every 30 seconds. “For people who have never tried it, it can feel like an eternity. You don’t really know what two minutes feels like until you actually brush that long,” Romo says. But when you’re not rushing to finish, it will keep you more mindful about brushing too aggressively.

Sticking with these tips can help you keep your teeth clean and your mouth healthy, while eliminating symptoms of tooth sensitivity.

Overbrushing: Watch out for too much of a good thing

Brushing regularly is considered vital for healthy teeth and gums, but dental experts warn that you can overdo a good thing. Known as “toothbrush abrasion,” overbrushing can lead to sensitive teeth and receding gums.

Vigorous brushing can wear down the enamel on the teeth as well as damage and push back the gums, exposing the sensitive root area. Receding gums can also lead to other dental problems such as periodontal disease and cavities on the roots of the teeth and may lead to the need for treatments such as fillings, root canals and tooth extraction. According to the Wall Street Journal, dentists estimate that between 10 to 20 percent of the population have damaged their teeth or gums as a result of overbrushing.

The people most at risk for tooth or gum damage from overbrushing are those who are particularly diligent about their oral care and those who use medium- or hard-bristled toothbrushes. Other factors, such as a genetic predisposition to receding gums, clenching or grinding your teeth or having had your teeth straightened with braces, can increase your risk for damage from overbrushing.

Brushing vigorously isn’t necessary to remove plaque. “Plaque is so soft that you could remove it with a rag if you could reach all the surfaces where it hides,” says Kevin Sheu, DDS, director of professional services for Delta Dental. “Thoroughness is what is required for plaque removal, not aggressive brushing. You’re not going to achieve any extra benefit by brushing hard.”

Changing brushing habits can usually stop the problem from getting worse. In cases of severe toothbrush abrasion, dentists can fill in the grooves with bonding material.

Proper brushing technique

What’s important when brushing your teeth is not how hard you scrub, but that you use the proper technique and that you do a thorough job. And that takes time. Dentists recommend that you brush your teeth for two to three minutes to get the most thorough cleaning. The following are some other tips for brushing your teeth correctly:

• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to prevent gum damage and wear on the soft tooth dentin (the less mineralized layer of tooth found just under the enamel) and in the root area. If you are accustomed to a hard-bristled toothbrush, even using a toothbrush that is softer than you are accustomed to will help.
• Place the head of your toothbrush with the tips of the bristles at a 45-degree-angle to the gumline when brushing.
• Move the toothbrush with short strokes and a scrubbing motion, several times in each spot – don’t saw back and forth across the teeth with your toothbrush.
• Apply just enough pressure to feel the bristles against the gums. If you are squashing the bristles, you’re brushing too hard.

Beware of brushing your teeth too long or too vigorously. Wall Street Journal

Updated October 2015

The oral health information on this web site is intended for educational purposes only. You should always consult a licensed dentist or other qualified health care professional for any questions concerning your oral health.

Can You Brush Your Teeth Too Hard?

By: Marissa Bakken, Registered Dental Hygienist

Brushing your teeth twice per day is important to keeping your teeth clean and healthy. But did you know that it’s possible to brush your teeth too hard? Too much pressure when you’re brushing can lead to damage of your gums, which cannot be reversed without surgery. Read on to learn the signs you’re brushing too hard, how to prevent it, and what to do if you notice you’ve been brushing your teeth too hard.

Signs You’re Brushing Your Teeth Too Hard

1. You’ve noticed your gums are receding. It’s possible that you may have even noticed a change in your gum line. Receding gums is a telltale sign that you’re brushing your teeth too hard.
2. Your teeth feel more sensitive. You may notice that certain parts of your teeth feel colder or more sensitive than other parts. This is because when your gums recede, parts of your teeth are exposed that have been covered until that point.
3. Your teeth aren’t as bright near your gums. Underneath the gums, your teeth are a darker shade because those underlying “root surfaces” don’t have enamel on them (enamel is the outer-most layer on your teeth that acts as a protective covering). If your gums start receding, your teeth will look less and less white the further you go into your root surface.

How to Prevent Brushing Your Teeth Too Hard

1. Use a toothbrush with soft or extra soft bristles. While some people like to use toothbrushes with medium to hard bristles, they can actually damage your gums more and cause gum recession. I recommend using a toothbrushes with softer bristles.
2. Hold your toothbrush with three fingers. This reduces the pressure of the toothbrush on your gums. You don’t need to press very hard in order for your teeth to get clean. It’s the motions you use rather than the pressure that will clean your teeth. By allowing the tips of the bristles to do the work, your brushing will be more effective.
3. Use an electric toothbrush. When used correctly, electric toothbrushes are a great way to prevent gum damage because they allow you to merely guide the toothbrush over your teeth. However, be careful not to use typical back and forth brushing motions with an electric toothbrush, as the motions combined with the power of the motor can wear gums away. Merely guide the brush and let it do the work! If you’d like to learn more, ask our hygienist at your next visit.

What to Do If You Think You Have Receding Gums

1. Visit your dentist. Your dentist will examine your gums to see the extent of the damage. In extreme cases, we may need to consult our gum specialist (called a Periodontist) who can graft gum tissue back on to the roots of your teeth and restore your smile to its previous state.
2. Use Sensodyne toothpaste to help reduce the sensitivity on the exposed roots surfaces.

Overall, it’s important to brush your teeth twice a day, but it’s just as important to make sure you’re doing it in a way that won’t harm your gums! Talk to your hygienist or dentist to see if you’re brushing your teeth in a way that will be most beneficial to your overall oral health.

Are You Brushing Your Teeth Too Hard?

When it comes to brushing your teeth, harder isn’t better. You may think brushing hard will be more effective at removing stubborn food particles and plaque. However, scrubbing too hard can actually be harmful to your teeth. In any case, brushing hard is not necessary as both food particles and plaque are often soft and loose. When you brush too hard, your Clermont dentist will likely see the evidence in the form of damaged teeth and gums. So, how hard is too hard and how should you be brushing to achieve that fresh, clean feel?

Effects of Brushing Too Hard

You probably don’t give much thought to how hard you brush your teeth. After many years of brushing multiple times per day, the process is likely a habit. Unfortunately, brushing your teeth too hard can have a negative impact on your smile over time.

If you over-brush, you may have what is called toothbrush abrasion. Abrasion refers to the loss of cementum and tooth enamel caused by mechanical forces. Too much pressure alone can be harmful to your teeth and gums but combine your heavy-handed cleaning technique with a hard-bristled toothbrush and you have a recipe for disaster.

Brushing too hard can result in a wide range of symptoms, such as:

• Gum Recession – Over time, over-brushing can cause your gums to recede. This often occurs when the soft cementum on the roots of the teeth become exposed. Without protection, the exposed cementum wears away resulting in sensitivity and sometimes pain.
• Tooth Sensitivity – Abrasion and erosion can both cause the enamel layer of your teeth to wear down. When nerve endings close to the tooth surface become exposed, drinking or eating hot or cold drinks and foods can cause sensitivity.
• Darkened Teeth – If you are scrubbing too hard, you may notice that your teeth are a darker shade underneath the gums. This is because these “root surfaces” do not have enamel. If your gums start to recede, your teeth may appear less white than they were before.

The Best and Worst Toothbrushes

When it comes to toothbrushes, not all are made equal. In fact, some types of toothbrushes can actually contribute to over-brushing. Bristle variety is an important factor when choosing a toothbrush. Most local dentists agree that you should avoid hard-bristled toothbrushes which can actually damage the enamel, root surface, and gums. Even some medium-bristled toothbrushes can be too harsh. Instead, opt for a soft-bristled toothbrush to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your teeth and gums.

Proper Teeth Brushing Techniques

Not everyone knows the proper brushing technique. First, pick up your soft-bristled toothbrush and position the head and bristles of the brush at a 45-degree angle to the gum-line. Use short strokes and a gentle scrubbing motion to clean each surface of the teeth. Avoid scrubbing your teeth in a back-and-forth sawing motion which can contribute to damage. You only need to apply enough pressure to feel the bristles against your teeth. If the bristles appear squashed, then you are brushing too hard.

Hurrying through the toothbrushing process can result in mistakes, such as over-brushing. It is important to slow down when you are brushing your teeth to allow you to gently clean without missing any areas. Hancock Village Dental recommends brushing for a full two minutes or 30 seconds per quadrant in your mouth. You should also brush twice per day. By sticking to this schedule, you can help ensure that your teeth remain clean without causing harm.

Speak with Your Dentist in Clermont

Most dentists caution against vigorous teeth brushing and for good reason. While you may not notice the symptoms of brushing too hard at first, they will likely become more apparent over time. From gum recession to tooth sensitivity, toothbrush abrasion can cause a range of uncomfortable side effects. Want to learn more about the impact of brushing your teeth too hard or would you like to speak with a dentist in Clermont, FL about your concerns? If so, reach out to the dental professionals at Hancock Village Dental today.

Dental Professional Explains Harmful Effects of Brushing Too Hard

You may have learned from a young age to put a little “elbow grease” into whatever you’re cleaning—whether it’s scrubbing a stained floor or scouring an old pot containing day-old food remains. Don’t take this approach when cleaning your teeth, though. People often go by the mantra that “more is better” when trying to scrub stains and food debris off of their teeth, but brushing too hard can actually have many negative dental effects.

If you brush your teeth too hard, you could be removing more than just stains: You are likely removing gum tissue, which can lead to gum recession over time.   This can cause discomfort because you essentially are harming the gums that are designed to protect the roots of your teeth.

When your soft roots are exposed, the roots can wear down, and this may cause sensitivity. You may be doing damage to the nerves located in the roots as well. The gums are also important in that they guard your roots against tooth decay, which occurs when bacteria produce acids that eat away at your teeth.

The very teeth you are attempting to help can also be damaged from brushing too hard. This happens because you may end up damaging your enamel—the hard tooth covering that is designed to protect your teeth.

Brushing your teeth involves a repetitive motion. If you are brushing too hard day after day, this only exacerbates the damage you are doing to your gums and teeth. You still need to brush your gums and teeth regularly, though, because brushing removes sticky food debris, called plaque. This prevents serious problems such as cavities and gum disease.

Your dentist will instruct you on how to properly brush your teeth and gums so that you can keep them healthy long-term. Contact the office of Dr. Howl to find out more about how we can address all of your dental concerns and keep your teeth attractive and intact for years to come.

Are you brushing your teeth too hard?

Many of us approach the task of toothbrushing with the enthusiasm of an army cadet trying to clean their dirty boots — we figure the harder we scrub, the better the result will be.

But brushing your teeth requires a more delicate approach, says Peter Alldritt, consultant to the Australian Dental Association’s oral health committee.

“People can literally kill their teeth with kindness,” Dr Alldritt says.

Be gentle with your gums

While teeth themselves are hard, the gums that surround them are not.

You do need to clean along the line where the gum meets your teeth, but brushing with too much pressure (or with too firm a toothbrush) can do more harm than good because it can wear away the thin top layer of gum.

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“Once you cause the gum to recede, which means it shrinks away from the neck of the tooth, it’s usually irreversible, it won’t grow back,” he says.

This exposes the neck of your tooth where there is no hard enamel covering the soft inner tooth layer called dentine.

The enamel, which helps protect against decay, covers only the part of the tooth that isn’t covered by the gum.

Once the dentine is exposed, your tooth is more vulnerable to decay from bacteria feeding on remnants of food.

It can also cause your teeth to become highly sensitive because of exposed nerve endings in the porous dentine.

This can make it difficult to eat or drink anything cold, hot or sweet.

As well, eroded gums can look unpleasant as the exposed dentine is a dull yellow colour, unlike shiny white teeth that have their enamel intact.

Jawbone thickness and eroding gums

A factor known as your “dental biotype” can also influence how careful you need to be about not brushing too hard.

Some of us are born with thinner gums (and jaw bones) than others and are therefore likely to be more prone to gum recession.

If you have a ‘thick’ biotype, your jaw bones are more substantial and your gums are more “thick and fleshy looking”, Dr Alldritt says.

“People who have a thick biotype could probably get away with brushing a bit harder and it might not cause any damage,” he says.

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Plaque becomes tartar in a week

We brush our teeth to remove plaque — the white- or cream-coloured sticky material which causes decay.

Plaque is made up of bacteria, residues from saliva, and bits of food.

“People think the harder you brush, the better you’re going to clean that plaque off, but plaque is actually soft,” Dr Alldritt says.

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Plaque is often confused with a harder substance called tartar or calculus, which builds up when plaque is left too long on your teeth and starts to absorb calcium out of your saliva.

Plaque can become tartar in as little as a week.

You can’t remove tartar with a toothbrush; your dentist needs to do it with a special tool called a scaler.

To remove plaque — and prevent the build-up of tartar — it’s good brushing technique, rather than brushing hard that matters most.

“Your toothbrush needs to be aimed at the gum line, that’s the most important thing,” Dr Alldritt says.

“If you’re not getting your toothbrush at the gum line, you’re not reaching where the plaque starts to grow.”

He says you should also use a circular brushing motion.

“Never [use] a back-and-forth motion like you’re scrubbing your shoes with a brush,” he says. “The upwards stroke of the circle is hopefully going to sweep the plaque away.”

Which toothbrush is right for me?

With so many choices of toothbrush, which one is best for your teeth?(

ABC Everyday: Daniel Mee

)

While the availability of soft, medium or firm toothbrushes might suggest the choice is simply a matter of personal taste, Dr Alldritt says you should only ever choose a soft brush.

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“Sure, a harder toothbrush will get the plaque off, but it will get some of the gum and dentine off, too,” he says.

“We haven’t got any power over what companies put on the shelves, unfortunately. But we always recommend using a soft toothbrush.”

The brushes on electric toothbrushes are always soft, he points out.

They also work using the desired circular brushing motion, but with the right technique, a soft manual toothbrush should work just as well as an electric one.

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If your gums are damaged

If you’ve already got some gum recession from overbrushing, all is not lost.

“We can’t make the gum grow back but there is some promise in gum-surgery techniques,” Dr Alldritt says.

Is sharing a toothbrush OK?

So you forgot your toothbrush and are faced with the choice of forgoing a night of teeth cleaning, or using your partner’s instead. We asked the oral health experts what they’d do.

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“We may be able to do some re-grafting [and] your dentist may refer you to a periodontist [to investigate this].”

To improve the pain and discomfort of sensitivity, there are specialised toothpastes, mouth rinses, varnishes and gels which may be helpful.

These contain desensitising agents that block the pores (known as tubules) in dentine, helping to stop pain sensations from reaching the tooth nerves, and disrupting the transmission of pain signals from tooth nerves to the brain.

However, Dr Alldritt cautions against self-diagnosing sensitive teeth as being due to overbrushing.

There can be many other causes including cavities, inflamed nerves, cracked teeth, broken fillings and even clenching and grinding your teeth.

Oral health tracker

The country’s first comprehensive dental health report card has found some pretty gross stats.

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“I wouldn’t want people to assume that just because they’ve got sensitive teeth, it’s from gum recession and think, ‘Oh well, I’ll just use sensitive toothpaste’,” he says.

“It’s important to get the problem diagnosed.”

Sensitive teeth can also be the result of the enamel being worn away higher up the tooth, but this is usually from brushing too soon after consuming acidic foods and drinks rather than purely from brushing too hard.

Wait 30 minutes after consuming anything acidic as this gives time for the tooth enamel to re-mineralise or harden before you brush.

This is general information only. For detailed personal advice you should see a qualified medical practitioner who knows your medical history.

This story, which was originally written by Cathy Johnson and published by ABC Health and Wellbeing, was updated in 2019.

90,000 13 myths about dental health

Is it enough for a healthy person to use only toothpastes and brushes for caring for teeth, is it really useful to chew gum after eating, sweets really spoil your teeth – they collected the most common myths about dental health and asked Tatiana, the GMS Dental dentist Anatolyevna Vinogradova, which of them is true and which is not.

1. Sweet is bad for teeth

True. And not only sweets

It all depends on the frequency of consumption of sweets and how long it is in the mouth.If we quickly swallow one candy, then no disaster will happen – only extra calories will be added. But if we take some toffee, nougat or caramel and chew for a long time, then this is where the risk of caries formation appears. When we eat something sweet, the PH environment in the mouth changes – it becomes more acidic, this worsens the condition of the teeth, they weaken and deteriorate faster. But, unfortunately, even a complete rejection of sweets does not guarantee the absence of dental problems. Almost any food has a negative effect on teeth.Therefore, ideally, you should brush your teeth after every meal.

2. Apples can clean teeth

True

Apples belong to that small category of products that are good for teeth. They are really good at cleaning and strengthening teeth, but they cannot be replaced with full cleaning.

3. Chewing gum is good for your teeth.

True. But with reservations

Chewing gum works like an apple – it cleans teeth. But you can have a snack with an apple, but not with chewing gum.In addition, it is important here when you chew gum and how long you do it. If the gum does not contain sugar and you chew it for two to three minutes after eating, then yes – it is rather useful, it will clean your teeth and help digestion. If you chew gum often, for a long time or instead of eating, then you can cause great harm to the stomach, the benefits for the teeth in this case are in doubt.

4. If your teeth outwardly look healthy and do not bother, then you can not go to the doctor

False

This is our mentality: until nothing hurts, few people go to the doctor.And this applies not only to dentistry. This behavior is partly due to Soviet medicine, which is customary to scare everyone. In part, people simply do not know where to go, do not trust the doctor, are afraid to find out something unpleasant, do not want to spend money. But, of course, it is better to check regularly. You need to go to the dentist every six months for hygienic cleaning, during which the doctor will remove the plaque with a special device that you cannot remove at home and will conduct a preventive examination of the teeth and oral cavity.This will allow any possible problems to be noticed and treated at an early stage and thus save money and time. After all, the longer you walk with the problem, the longer and more expensive it will be to treat it.

5. To take care of the oral cavity, one toothbrush is enough for a healthy person.

False

No, not enough. But if you add dental floss or special brushes, then it will be enough. It is better to brush your teeth with sweeping movements. That is, from the gum to the incisal edge.In one direction. When you move the brush horizontally back and forth, you only push plaque into the interdental space. Not everyone needs special rinses either; they should only be bought on the recommendation of a doctor.

6. The harder the brush, the better it cleans the teeth.

False

There are companies that do not produce hard brushes at all. Because hard brushes, especially with the wrong brushing technique, can ruin the enamel. Here the defining moment is not really the hardness or softness of the brush, but the number and density of the bristles.It is good if there are a lot of them and the bundles are dense.

7. An electric toothbrush cleans better than usual

False

I call these brushes brushes for the lazy. If you have a rotating head electric brush, I suggest you throw it away. She is not able to remove plaque. There is not enough power for the head to rotate a sufficient number of times. The trajectory of movement of such brushes only contributes to the fact that the plaque is in the interdental space. If your electric brush head looks like an ordinary one, you can safely use this one.But still it cannot be argued that she cleans better than usual. They work the same way.

8. Mint toothpaste cleans teeth better

False

This is more of a myth. Yes, this paste gives a feeling of freshness, especially if a person suffers from halitosis (odor from the mouth), but it cannot be argued that it cleans better or worse than any other – the taste does not affect in any way.

9. Whitening pastes spoil your teeth

False

Globally bleaching pastes do not spoil your teeth.Of course, it all depends on the composition of the paste, on the number and size of abrasive particles, as well as on the initial state of the teeth. But ordinary whitening pastes cannot cause any real harm, however, you will not get a noticeable effect either. Only professional whitening gives it.

10. Professional whitening is harmful to teeth

False

There are contraindications to such bleaching. For example, pregnancy, but this procedure is rather safe.Patients often worry that whitening will ruin their teeth, but for some reason they are not afraid that they are drinking sweet soda or snacking on unhealthy snacks. In general, everything is relative. But I can say for sure that I don’t know the cases when teeth deteriorated and fell out after bleaching.

11. It is possible to correct the bite only in childhood

False

It is possible to correct the bite at any age. The only thing you need to understand is that in young people, all the processes of moving teeth and correcting occlusion will be faster and easier.The older the person, the longer and more difficult it will be.

12. There are no people with a perfectly correct bite, so all people need the help of an orthodontist.

Rather true.

Most people really need an orthodontist. Of course, there are lucky ones who are doing well: their teeth are aligned and correctly relative to each other, none of them is overloaded. But there are only a few of them, so most people really need orthodontic treatment. Someone less, someone more serious.So it is best to start being observed by the orthodontist with the appearance of the first molars.

13. Milk teeth do not need to be treated

False

A good pediatric dentist can always weigh the situation and determine whether a tooth needs to be treated or is it more expedient to remove it. For example, if a milk tooth is in poor condition, but it has several months left before changing to a permanent one, then it is better to remove it. If we are talking about years, then you need to treat. Otherwise, the new tooth may grow unevenly, and the rest of the teeth will begin to move.Then you will definitely not be able to do without the help of an orthodontist.

4 ways to reduce tooth sensitivity

You drank iced tea, took a bite of candy, or ate a spoonful of hot soup, and immediately felt something like an electric shock make you jump in place. “Sensitive teeth” is a rather bland name for something that can be wildly uncomfortable. So what’s going on? Why do teeth react to hot, cold, sweet, or sour, and sometimes even squeezing? The dentist must be a detective to determine what exactly is causing the patient’s discomfort, as teeth become sensitive for a variety of reasons, from trauma to dental disease.

Teeth can become sensitive to even slight pressure if they have been injured – for example, by accidentally biting a popcorn kernel or a splinter of a nutshell. Teeth are often more sensitive after brushing, filling, or other dental procedures. Sometimes the discomfort can persist for several months.
In other cases, people can trigger tooth sensitivity by grinding their teeth or clenching their jaws tightly.If the pressure response is rare and goes away after a day or two, then you have nothing to worry about. Teeth just need time to recover from injury. But, when sensitivity to compression is constantly observed, then one can suspect something like a crack or, at least, serious caries, and it is better to see a doctor.

By far the most common cause of teeth sensitivity to temperature, sweet or sour foods is exposed dentin, the tissue underneath the tooth enamel that contains microscopic nerve fibers.Dentin can open as a result of tooth decay, abrasion of enamel such as vigorous brushing, or gum recession (drooping). Regardless of the cause, teeth become more sensitive.
If you find that one or more teeth are sensitive, see your dentist first to determine the cause. Then, if the sensitivity is caused by enamel abrasion or normal gum recession, try the following home remedies for pain relief.

1. Switch to a desensitizing toothpaste.These specialty toothpastes contain ingredients that dampen sensitivity by filling canals in the dentin. Squeeze some of the toothpaste onto your finger or a cotton swab and spread it over sensitive spots. Do not rinse. It is best to do this before bed. Relief should come within a few weeks.
2. Try a fluoride rinse. It will help reduce the sensitivity of your teeth. You can use the rinse aid once a day.For more severe cases, a fluoride gel is used.
3. Keep your teeth clean. Plaque produces acid that irritates the teeth. Brush your teeth at least twice a day, preferably immediately after meals and especially before bed, and floss at least once a day.
4. Use a soft toothbrush. Often, people press too hard on their toothbrush when brushing or use a brush with stiff bristles that can damage the protective enamel of the teeth.Using a soft bristled brush will be very gentle on your teeth (in fact, a light touch allows the bristles to move more freely and do their job more efficiently than pressing too hard).

When to see a doctor about tooth sensitivity

Although you can often treat sensitive teeth yourself, see your dentist if:

• Teeth persistently continue to respond to squeezing;
• One tooth remains sensitive, which may mean that its tissue is susceptible to decay;
• Sensitivity does not decrease after two weeks of using the desensitizing toothpaste;
• You have a toothache that lasts more than an hour;
• The gums around the sensitive tooth are discolored;
• You have any obvious signs of rotting.

Adapted from: www.howstuffworks.com

Fight against bad breath

What do you really need to keep your breath fresh for a long time?

Everyone knows that you need to brush your teeth. Everyone understands that our fresh breath depends on oral hygiene, and as a result, easy communication. But not everyone knows how to properly take care of the cleanliness of the oral cavity, and what causes us to have bad breath.The freshness of our breath is influenced by the condition of our teeth, gums, tongue, foods eaten the day before (onions, garlic, cabbage). Rotting untreated teeth can also affect bad breath.

I want to start my story with the hygiene of the tongue. I do this for the sole purpose, if you have opened this page, then most likely, before it gets bored, you will have time to read its first lines. Thus, you will have time to learn about what so little is said and paid attention to, but what so strongly influences the state of our breathing.

The tongue is an integral part of the oral cavity. It also gets dirty and needs cleaning. You have noticed that often after brushing your teeth, after 2-3 hours, you will again smell from the mouth. This is due to the tongue, or rather the plaque that accumulates on it. The tongue is covered with many taste buds, between which plaque, bacteria and a lot of all sorts of byaki get stuck. This byaka is actively multiplying and makes our breath fetid. Moreover, in the language, the conditions for the reproduction of bacteria are much better than on the teeth and gums.Run your fingernail over the surface of your tongue and you will see how much plaque it contains. These are bacteria and their metabolic products, together with the epithelium of the tongue. Now take the risk of sniffing it – uh-oo-oo-oo, how disgusting. You can brush your tongue with a toothbrush, a teaspoon (sharp inner edge), or gauze wrapped around your finger.

I also want to involve you in a little experiment.

Everyone knows that in the morning, when we just woke up, the state of the oral cavity leaves much to be desired.First of all, this is bad breath and unpleasant viscosity, in short, a trash heap, and it does not depend on whether you brush your teeth at night or not. The result is about the same. If all of the above is not about you, then you are just lucky. Most will probably agree with me. So an experiment.

First stage. Just brush your teeth with toothpaste as usual before bed. In the morning, analyze your feelings and remember them.

Second stage. Try not brushing your teeth before going to bed, just brush your tongue.Scrub the surface with a paste-free brush, a teaspoon, gauze wrapped around your finger, or a tongue scraper. Brush your tongue not only at the tip, but also closer to the root of the tongue (closer to the throat). I understand that many will have a gag reflex (do not be afraid, you will not vomit if there are no prerequisites for this), but a minute of unpleasant sensations later will pay off many times over. Rinse out your mouth. In the morning, analyze your feelings, compare with the previous stage and remember. (This step can be skipped.)

Third stage. Brush your teeth and tongue overnight. Do it carefully, as I described in the previous step. In the morning, evaluate your feelings, compare them with the previous stages of the experiment.

In the vast majority of patients, the result improved as the stages progressed. Many even said that they can kiss without hesitation in the morning and there is no such urgent need to run to brush their teeth as before. The state of breathing during the day was also much better than before the experiment.Almost all “experimenters” expressed their desire to continue brushing their tongue at least every other day.

If you do not want to go through the whole experiment completely, then at least just try to brush your tongue at any time convenient for you. The result will not be long in coming.

Let’s continue brushing our teeth.

Everyone knows that you need to brush your teeth. Everyone understands that our fresh breath depends on oral hygiene, and as a result, easy communication. But not everyone knows how to properly take care of the cleanliness of the oral cavity, and what causes us to have bad breath.The freshness of our breath is influenced by the condition of our teeth, gums, tongue, foods eaten the day before (onions, garlic, cabbage). Rotting untreated teeth can also affect bad breath.

Toothbrush. An extremely necessary item for every civilized person of any gender and age. You need to use it at least twice a day (morning and evening), but it is not forbidden and more often. The process of brushing your teeth should take 2-3 minutes.

Movement when brushing teeth:

• horizontal, from the outside and inside;
• vertical or sweeping, from the gums to the edge of the tooth (do not rub plaque under the gums) from the outside and inside;
• loop-like or circular movements, while the gums are massaged.

Change the brush every 3-4 months. Some brushes have a special blue indicator strip. As soon as this strip is completely discolored, it is time to change the brush.

• A good toothbrush should have the following benefits:
• Have quality synthetic bristles.
• The stiffness distinguishes between soft, medium and hard bristles. For many, a medium-hard bristle is optimal; it cleans the gingival groove and the spaces between the teeth well.
• The fibers in the brush are combined into bundles, which are arranged in 3-4 rows. The tufts should have different lengths and sometimes different directions, and the tips of the bristles should be carefully rounded, otherwise the gums will be injured and bleed when brushing. If your gums hurt, then you will brush your teeth more accurately, and the quality of cleaning will suffer. As a result, poor hygiene, inflammation of the gums, bleeding gums, caries, bad breath. How do you know which brush has these rounded bristles? First of all, these are brushes from well-known manufacturers: Oral-B, Kolgeit, Blen da Med, Aquafresh and others.Secondly, on the back of the package, in Russian, the features of the processing of the bristles and other characteristics of the brush should be indicated. If possible, do not buy brushes – fake, do not harm the health of your teeth and gums.
• It is a good idea if the brush has a flexible joint that helps to distribute pressure while brushing your teeth and avoid injury.
• The size of the brush head varies from 18 to 35 mm. It is better to use small-head brushes as they are easier to manipulate in the mouth.For children, a size of about 18 – 25 mm is suitable, and for adults – an average of 30 mm.
• Have a pleasant appearance for you, because a brush that evokes negative emotions can spoil your mood every day.

Electric toothbrush. By and large invented for the lazy, but at the same time it is superior to a regular toothbrush. An electric toothbrush cleans teeth and massages the gums better. At the same time, it is much more expensive than an ordinary brush, it needs to periodically change the attachments, it depends on batteries or electricity.

Toothpaste. There are many pastes available. The manufacturers of these pastes promise us fresh breath, a snow-white smile and protection from caries. Most of these promises are grossly exaggerated. I will not list all the criteria for a quality pasta. Better do the same as with brushes – buy products from well-known companies. The only thing I want to warn you against the temptations that promise you a sensational whitening. Some are very abrasive and scratch the enamel. Also, there are pastes for sensitive teeth, for the treatment of caries, whitening, pastes that prevent the formation of caries.Instead of toothpaste, you can use a gel to clean your teeth.

Floss and brushes. In addition to daily brushing with toothpaste and brush, do not forget that a lot of plaque and bacteria remain in the interdental spaces. For this, there are floss brushes. Flosses are designed for tight interdental spaces and come in floss, strip, waxed, fruit flavored, etc. Choose the one that suits you best. Brushes are used to clean the contact surfaces of the teeth with large interdental spaces.Thoroughly clean your interdental spaces, and if you don’t think it’s necessary, then somehow smell the floss that was just passed between your teeth. I don’t think you will like it.

Elixirs for mouthwash. They have a refreshing, anti-inflammatory and anti-caries effect. The use of elixirs should not replace the use of toothbrushes, pastes, floss and brushes.

Gums. In the mouth, it is necessary to take care not only of the teeth, but also of the gums.While brushing your teeth, massage your gums with a brush. This will strengthen them and remove microbial plaque. You can use ready-made or herbal rinses. Be careful when rinsing. Don’t rinse your mouth too often. Excessive rinsing can cause dry mouth and inflammation.

Many people think that bad breath when talking comes from the stomach. It’s a delusion. Foods such as onions, garlic, or cabbage produce strong breath. But this is not the smell from the stomach.The aforementioned products, being absorbed into the bloodstream, are excreted during respiration. Stomach problems do not cause bad breath either. An exception is bad breath during belching.

Oral fresheners – chewing gums, pads, dragees, deodorants, etc. Provide only a temporary effect. What do you think, if you sprinkle a pile of manure with deodorant, it will take a long time to smell. True, there is still a positive effect. When chewing gum, the teeth are mechanically cleaned, and due to the substances contained, the acidity of the oral cavity is normalized, which prevents the occurrence of caries.By the way, these same substances in large quantities have a toxic effect on the liver.

That’s all. Clean the oral cavity comprehensively and then the smell from the mouth is unlikely to bother you.

Source: www.vse32.ru

FAQ about hygiene / Belaya Raduga company blog / Habr

Teeth before hygiene, a chemical agent for staining plaque (used for educational purposes so that the patient sees uncleanable areas) and the state after hygiene.

There are a lot of questions about brushing your teeth, so let’s go over the main ones:

• What happens if you don’t brush your teeth?
• Is it okay to brush your teeth rarely, but go to the dentist from time to time so that he “brushes them powerfully”?
• How is dental cleaning done in dentistry?
• Why do the Swiss brush their teeth without any toothpaste at all?
• Does the gum work?
• Which brushes to choose and how? What about electrical?
• Is it true that the brush should be thrown away when at least one villi deviates from the vertical?
• Why do you need tongue scrapers, interdental brushes, dental floss and everything else?
• Does the irrigator replace brushing your teeth?
• Is the mouthwash a good topic?
• When is it more important to brush your teeth – in the morning or in the evening?
• How is the IT professional different from the average patient’s oral health history?

Why brush your teeth at all? What happens if you don’t touch them?

The oral cavity is a place of incessant battle of about 700 types of microflora.Saliva is one of the most active body fluids. On the one hand, it must neutralize the biological threats of the outside world, on the other hand, it must pre-process food, and on the third hand, it must protect the teeth. From the point of view of evolutionary biodesign, the problem is solved very well if you eat what evolutionary biodesign offers from the outside world. For example, apples, large animals with tough meat, then unripe wild pears, carrots, and so on. Hard food perfectly cleans teeth without your help.

Several tens of thousands of years ago, something went wrong, and man learned to cook food on fire. This gave rise to the first problems, but then not very significant ones, since in the light of the development of medicine and the lack of antibiotics, teeth were not the most important problem. But already in the twentieth century, when fast food, forced high-carbohydrate diets and soft, inconsistent foods entered the masses, real difficulties began.

Dental plaque is a biofilm made from bacteria that sticks to your teeth and protects against aggressive saliva and other cleaning methods.Adhesive microfragments of food, which remain in the form of such glue on the teeth, help bacteria very much in this. For example, crumbly biscuits or pizza dough combine with dead cells to create a good bio-glue. Bacteria settle on it and begin to colonize your tooth. Their goal is to get inside and set up a base there. We call this tooth decay. Most often, developed caries is just amphora-shaped: a small inlet and a sea of ​​destruction inside the tooth.

This is how the patient comes in:

Here hidden caries comes to light:

And here is the end of the therapist’s work:

Latent caries, in principle, can be detected by radiography and transillumination.

If this biofilm is removed in time, there will be no caries. But it is strong enough, so either a strong antiseptic is needed (the same alcohol, which at the same time harms other parts of the system already starting from the oral cavity), or mechanical treatment (with an apple or a toothbrush). Large amounts of saliva partially wash away the films, but not all: for example, at the contact points and under the edge of the gums, they remain.

Several layers of biofilm form calculus – tartar. This is a rather disgusting bacteria hardening.It is disgusting for its unique smell and taste (which your partner often feels with every kiss). But from the point of view of medicine, this is not the main thing. The main thing is that tartar still presses on the gums and impedes the blood supply to the gums, creating complex inflammations. Well, nobody ruled out caries. Imagine that a few grains of sand have sunk into your hand, and they stick out there for months, gradually increasing. Tartar is about the same unpleasant, but due to the peculiarities of innervation, you hardly feel them.

So, if you don’t brush your teeth, a biofilm will form very quickly. And if you do not touch the biofilm, then a calculus is formed, which starts many unpleasant processes. The accepted medical practice is to brush your teeth after breakfast and dinner.

When is it more important to brush your teeth – in the morning or in the evening?

It may seem that brushing your teeth is equally important in the morning and in the evening. But no, evening cleaning is much more important. At night, the body produces less saliva (this is one of the reasons why you have a dry mouth in the morning).Less saliva on teeth means less protection. Less protection means faster biofilm formation.

That is, if in the morning you brush your teeth so that your mouth does not smell when talking, then in the evening you need to brush your teeth for medical reasons. Most teeth brushing techniques suggest that the evening brush should be longer than the morning.

Is it possible to brush your teeth rarely, but go to the dentist from time to time so that he “brushes them powerfully” for you?

As a doctor, I have to say no, but actually yes.That is, in any case, you do so, because you are far from reaching the places that need to be cleaned. Usually, the patient brushes his teeth either with parallel frictions “from the elbow” along the frontal surface, or haphazardly and randomly on all surfaces with approximately the same frictions. As a result, he has excellent clean frontal surfaces of the anterior incisors, excellent condition of the edges of the teeth and chewing surfaces, but almost always a tendency to caries on the far surface of the back teeth and on the inner surface near the gums of the front teeth.That is, like this:

Before and after hygiene.

It can take approximately two weeks from biofilm formation to the earliest cases of caries. After that, there is still time for the development of caries, when it can be stopped in time with little tissue loss without drilling into the tooth. That is, if the patient somehow brushes his teeth, then an interval of three to four months is considered safe, after which you need to look at early caries. Moreover, according to various sources, from 40 to 60% of cases of caries in the initial stages are not diagnosed on examinations, therefore it is very important to use hardware research methods before hygiene.In particular, staining and interproximal images with minimal radiation exposure work very well.

Just in case, typical doses of radiation exposure:

CT scan of the abdominal cavity and pelvis – 10 mSv.
Chest CT scan – 7 mSv.
Chest X-ray – 0.1 mSv.
Aimed shot – 0.003 mSv.
Cone beam tomography of the head – 0.01–0.014 mSv.
Intraoral radiography – 0.005 mSv.
The average annual radiation dose is 0.0022 mSv / inhabitant.
Eat one banana – 0.0001 mSv.
Screening at the airport with an X-ray scanner – 0.0005 mSv.

Our device:

Interproximally three to four teeth – 0.003 mSv.
Eight teeth in one jaw – 0.04 mSv.
Eight teeth on two jaws – 0.06 mSv.
Both jaws – 0.07 mSv.
The whole head is 0.1 mSv.

That is, if you at least somehow correctly and more or less evenly brush your teeth, then you should go to the dentist every three to four months, because after six months we already see caries.Modern techniques recommend just such an interval, and I would like to believe in such a discipline.

Going to the clinic for hygiene and diagnostics is on average five to six times cheaper than treating the consequences of advanced caries. For those who use dental VHI: please note that, most likely, hygiene and small caries are in your coating, but moderate and severe forms are not. That is, for you it is a shareware way to keep your teeth in order.

Is it possible to independently assess areas of biological damage?

Yes, you can.To do this, you need to buy at the nearest pharmacy either Curaprox, Dinal tablets, or Curaprox, PresiDENT liquid. The tablets are chewed to a cheerful foam and spit out. Considering that there you need to carefully and thoughtfully read the instructions to the end, it is better to buy a liquid, it is applied with a special swab or cotton swab. It will turn out more reliable. But if you have not been on hygiene for the last two or three months, then it is better to do it on Friday evening. In fact, it rinses off almost immediately, but there is a chance that especially violent lesions will be stained for about 50 hours.This happens quite rarely and with poor hygiene, but it is a matter of chance.

What happens during dental hygiene?

The hygienist first looks at the size of the stones. If there are very large ones, then we break them with ultrasound. Then, manually using rotating brushes, rubber bands and paste, we work with a bloom. If you need to crawl under the gums, then there are curette hooks that can be used to clean difficult areas and smooth the surface of the roots so that rotting food does not linger there.Then each gap between the teeth is processed with floss and fine sandpaper. Then the teeth are polished. The next stage is strengthening: a disposable mouthguard with remineralizing solution is placed on the teeth. It then discusses how best to brush your teeth in the future.

Further, there are two approaches: “industrial” and “archaeological”. If you see sandblasting on soda, then you are a hygienist who wants to quickly and powerfully. However, due to the design features of this equipment, it is very difficult to ensure the balance of efficiency and safety, therefore, we consider this approach not the best in terms of attitude to the tissues of the oral cavity (the rough surface of the tooth after a large abrasive gives great adhesion to sticky food, gums are often damaged).Manufacturing companies are trying to solve this problem, but so far our choice is mechanical contact cleaning.

Various chemical agents and “mild” abrasives can be used during cleaning. If there is inflammation of the gums (which is often associated with “blockages” of stones), then treatment with special antiseptics and agents may be needed to relieve the inflammation. In this case, the technique is often divided into two: first, the calculi above the gum line are removed, then five to seven days pass until the inflammation caused by them subsides, and then it is relatively safe to work with the stones below.If you do everything in one go, it will not be very beautiful: blood in all directions. Not that we were sorry to arrange this, it just prevents us from correctly assessing the results of work inside this bloody mess. Therefore, we love when it is clean, the patient does not break free and does not panic. Gingivitis from the middle stage = two doses, one week apart.

The procedure itself is painless, but sometimes it tickles patients. Sometimes the grinding of a tool in the teeth causes unpleasant emotions. There is no problem to do everything under local anesthesia: this is just the case when you don’t have to be afraid to ask her.

Hygiene is done before any more or less serious intervention, since it allows you to correctly diagnose later and correctly take into account the shape of the teeth. Well, the fewer dangerous bacteria during invasive procedures near the field, the better.

That is, it is enough to properly brush your teeth, and there will be no problems, right?

Right. But we still work on all areas, all teeth are polished.

And how to brush your teeth correctly?

A colleague of mine recently wrote about the characteristic “programmer teeth”.About half of the problems in these cases are associated with insufficient salivation of the oral cavity: this is a completely predictable consequence of night work, stressful focus on the task and various problems with food. Since I have very little faith in the fact that someone, after reading, will suddenly begin to eat right or change the daily routine, let’s tell you how to properly brush your teeth according to the Swiss method. It is most suitable for those who have a busy schedule, stress and unhealthy diet. That is, for all adults in large cities.

It is called the BASS technique (more precisely, the extended technique of brushing teeth according to Bass). She is one of about two dozen techniques available. Please note that we still do not know which technique is best for brushing your teeth. If you are interested, this question was raised in Nature: here is an analysis of recommendations from various sources, textbooks and a selection of studies. The result boils down to the fact that for children the Bass technique is too difficult, but for adults it gives the best result.Moreover, all studies that numerically confirm this were carried out over a fairly short observation period.

Sorry for the squeeze: this is the original picture quality from a study of 180 healthy children. Blue was-now – this is your usual horizontal cleaning, red – circular with closed teeth, green – according to Bass. Here is another study with a long observation period. This is partly due to the fact that it is difficult to follow patients and stand above their souls every time they brush their teeth.

Nevertheless, this method is currently one of the best, judging by scientific data and practice. Here’s what to do:

1. Buy the soft toothbrush with the most fluff. The shape is strictly straight (both the handle and the fleecy part without bends and protrusions). You still can’t do anything better with a hard or medium-hard brush, but a soft one cleans much better and without damage: we will work on the border with the gum.

I recommend Curaprox ultrasoft 5460, Revyline, TePe brushes, but you can choose any that are similar.

2. Take the brush like a handle (not a fist) and place it at an angle of 45 degrees to the gum vertically so that the bristles enter as if under the edge of the gums. You will feel it. Half of the brush should be on the crown of the tooth, half on the gum. Then start moving with the brush to get such long ovals. Gradually work your way over all the teeth from the front, working on the edge of the gums.

Do not move the brush with your elbow or forearm, only your hand. Very soft smooth movements should be obtained.

3. Brush the inside of the teeth in the same way, but keep the brush upright.

4. After that, make the usual horizontal movements along the edges of the teeth and their frontal surfaces.

The procedure is slower than the usual haphazard cleaning, since you need to go over all the teeth very carefully at the edge with the gum. It takes three minutes in the morning, more than five minutes in the evening. In Switzerland, they brush their teeth for seven to ten minutes, leaving the bathroom with a brush without toothpaste. This is a very good practice, and I recommend it: just grab a brush and sit down to watch YouTube or do something else and work gently along the edge of the gum.The point of the method is not only that while brushing your teeth you can do something else (fortunately, there is no paste), but also that you do not see your reflection. When you operate the brush according to visual reference points, it always drastically reduces the quality of cleaning compared to cleaning without a mirror, because different sensory systems are involved. And sensations are more important here than sight.

Is it true that the brush should be thrown out when at least one villi deviates from the vertical?

Yes, if the pile on your brush is no longer vertical, it is better to change it.Usually, the brushes are changed about once a month, but the quality options from the recommendations above, with the right manual skills, can be changed every three months.

It is also very important to change the brush after hygiene at the dentist: the microbiota of the oral cavity is “restarted” for you, and it is not very good to bring in the old pathogenic one from the old brush.

Disposable toothbrushes with dry granules and beneficial enzymes are sold in pharmacies. I recommend carrying this with you in your bag: it’s a great option if you suddenly realize that it is better to look and smell perfect.

Why do you need tongue scrapers, interdental brushes, dental floss and everything else?

The tongue scraper is very important because the tongue also needs to be cleaned. You can do this with a separate brush, but with a scraper it is much more convenient and efficient. I recommend double scrapers, here are a couple of examples: Curaprox double and TePe. It is better to use a scraper before the main cleaning, passing over the tongue literally three to four times.

Dental floss is not recommended at this time. More precisely, it is very good for cleaning fiber from meat after a restaurant (and better than not having it), but bad if you don’t know how to use it correctly.And almost no one knows how: it should not touch the gums. Therefore, a more modern approach is the interdental brushes. They look like this:

As you can see, they are different colors for different intervals. You need to pick them up with a doctor using a special probe that is inserted between specific pairs of teeth. It is better not to do this on your own. Summing up: it is better to forget about the brushes, as well as about the thread, until the doctor directly advises you.

Mouthwash is good in the afternoon after meals if it does not contain alcohol.It works better with alcohol, but damages teeth and soft tissues (primarily mucous membranes). Without alcohol, it is worse and not suitable as a replacement for a full cleaning, that is, it is better to use it only during the day if you need to get rid of the smell or clean your mouth after eating.

There are also Water Dent foams – they restore the environment to slightly alkaline, which is much better than the acidic environment after a meal (and especially after coffee). Some mouth rinses work the same way.

Is the irrigator working?

The toothbrush removes about 70% of bio-foci.The rest are located where it is mechanically impossible to reach, for example, in contact points. So yes, the irrigator complements your regular dental cleaning very well. If you can, use it every time. But just do not take stationary ones that require connection to a household power supply. Practice shows that my patients do not use these because of the difficulty of switching on in the bathroom. It is better to use mobiles with batteries, they are much easier and always at hand near the sink.

What about gum?

Chewing gum is a very good option for cleaning your teeth after eating.But do not use it for more than three to four minutes and do not take gum with sugars.

Which paste to choose?

Any with low abrasiveness is suitable. Calcium pastes work, but with a long exposure of the paste on the teeth. I do not recommend whitening pastes, pastes for smokers and coffee lovers. Look at the index of abrasiveness, the best options are in the region of RDA 50-70 units. In the morning, you can use an antibacterial, but in the evening – only the usual. I recommend pastes such as Biorepair Night, Apadent, R.O.C.S. Active Calcium, Curaprox. I don’t really recommend the Russian versions of Colgate and Blendamed: they have some changes relative to the foreign line-up, which makes the environment more aggressive.

Milk and cottage cheese do not affect the teeth (calcium from them hardly gets into the enamel). The pastes have little effect, but with 10 minutes of cleansing, the results are noticeable. Usually, when a patient has problems with calcium, special gels are prescribed in courses of two weeks every three months.

A couple of research references.

If I am not reaching my back wisdom teeth, what should I do?

You can leave them to the doctor, you can try to clean them.But let’s talk about wisdom teeth and their purpose separately.

Is it true that dentists don’t want to teach us how to brush our teeth?

It may seem that the dentist has a vested interest in making sure you brush your teeth incorrectly. Because if you teach it correctly, then you will not come back with caries or no tooth at all.

There are two exceptions:

1. Hygienists who want to help a patient. This is either an ordinary human desire to do well, or the basis of the clinic’s work: good service is noticeable, and such a clinic is much more trusted (that is, they return much more often, and if a patient with a clinic is 10 years old, then sooner or later he will need expensive services purely statistically) …
2. And the manufacturers of irrigator-paste-brushes understand that the correct set of consumables and instruments in the patient’s hands brings them quite a lot, so they try to teach people the right processes, including through the hygienists of the clinics.

We created the clinic as a way to make money at the cutting edge of applied science, but very quickly clients began to tell their friends about us as one of the most caring dentistry in Moscow. We counted on “the most advanced technically”, but that’s okay too.I hope that my contribution to the “most caring” one, because I explain in great detail and in detail how not to get into the chair next time. And with me you can practice brushing your teeth separately from the reception: a hygiene lesson lasts 40-60 minutes, and the price includes the necessary set of brushes and brushes.

P.S. If you get to our clinics, then say that you are from Habr, there will be a 5% discount.

Why you can’t brush your teeth immediately after eating

Scientists have told what happens to teeth if you regularly brush them immediately after eating.

We were all taught from childhood to brush our teeth regularly. Preferably twice a day – in the morning and in the evening. Otherwise, bacteria will multiply in the mouth and damage the enamel of the teeth and contribute to gum disease. As a result, many decided that in order to avoid problems, it is better to brush your teeth every time after eating or drinking something (other than regular water). So, they say, bacteria will not be able to survive.

However, this is not the correct point of view. Moreover, the habit of over-grooming your teeth is very harmful to them.

According to dentists, brushing your teeth immediately after waking up in the morning is considered the most beneficial for health. It’s great if you remember to brush your teeth before bed. But during the day this should not be done without special reasons and recommendations from the attending physician.

Because as a result of interaction with some products, tooth enamel softens and too active brushing after meals can severely damage it.

In addition, it is important to remember that saliva that forms after eating is good for dental health – it neutralizes the excessively acidic alkaline environment in the mouth.This prevents tooth decay and other unpleasant diseases from occurring. By brushing your teeth immediately after eating, a person deprives himself of this protection.

Remember: regular water, which dentists recommend to drink between meals, will help keep your teeth healthy. It “extinguishes” acid attacks in the bud and normalizes the pH level in the mouth.

But if you still need to brush your teeth during the day for some reason, do it right: start brushing your teeth from hard-to-reach places.Brush the spaces between your teeth with dental floss or special brushes, and only then brush your teeth with a regular brush and paste. And do not forget to regularly clean the surface of the tongue from plaque. Bacteria harmful to tooth enamel also accumulate there.

90,000 7 Most Common Dental Care Mistakes

A smile says a lot about a person. She expresses happiness, confidence and warmth, and also makes us more attractive. The key to a sweet smile is, of course, beautiful white teeth.However, our care – brushing or flossing, using rinse aid – may not be good enough for our teeth.

You use your teeth for a total of

Our teeth are strong enough, but the more often you misuse them, the worse for your teeth. The anterior groups of teeth are not strong enough and are most easily damaged at this point. Cracking nuts, opening bottles, and chewing on pencils and pens can result in a chipped tooth fragment.

You brush your teeth too hard

Do you think brushing your teeth twice a day is enough? The biggest mistake is applying too much pressure with the toothbrush.People think that brushing their teeth harder will improve the quality of brushing, but doing so can damage the enamel and gums. In addition, it is best to use soft bristles, sweeping away from the gums, holding the brush at a 45-degree angle and avoiding damage to the gums.

You contribute to the formation of hyperpigmentation

Many drinks that contain colorants, such as wine, coffee or soda, are harmful to your teeth. Wine stains tooth enamel very strongly.If you are going to dinner, where you will drink wine, and then maybe coffee, it is good to anoint your teeth with a special petroleum jelly, which will create a protective barrier and allow you to drink your favorite drinks.

You do not floss your teeth well

Just because you brush your teeth every day does not mean that you are doing it right. During this process, we can damage the delicate gums. By inserting the floss between the teeth, it is very easy to damage part of the gum. It is necessary to tightly fix the thread, threading it into the gap at the level of the neck of the tooth.Next, the thread is pulled up.

You are clenching your teeth strongly

If you wake up with a headache or ear pain, this could be a sign that you are clenching your teeth while you sleep. You may also wake up with pain in your mandibular joint.

The muscles used for chewing are associated with the muscles of the forehead and temples, which is why some people wake up with headaches. Clenching of teeth during sleep can cause abrasion of the chewing and cutting surfaces of the teeth.A removable mouthguard may be the solution. Thanks to this, you will not grit your teeth at night.

You have chosen the wrong mouthwash

Many of us think that mouthwash is used to get rid of bacteria, but in some cases it can create a bacteria-friendly environment. The hazard is a mouthwash containing ethanol. Alcohol can dry out your mouth and thus promote bacterial growth. Better to choose a liquid based on essential oils or fluoride.If you are at a loss with the choice – contact your dentist.

You drink fruit juices

They contain a lot of vitamins, but, unfortunately, a lot of sugar and acids. The sugar concentration in the drink is slightly higher than in one fruit. Bacteria convert sugar into acid, which can damage tooth enamel and lead to tooth decay. To reduce damage, it is best to drink juices through a straw to reduce contact of the teeth with the juice, or rinse your mouth with water. This rule will also work with other acidic foods like lemon or lime and foods high in sugar like soda.

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Care for sensitive teeth | Dentistry Cosmodent

Dental hypersensitivity can occur, for example, when you breathe in cold air, eat cold foods or drink cold liquids. This is due to the dentin exposure that occurs due to the receding gums. Pain associated with tooth sensitivity can be prevented with good oral hygiene. Here’s how to do it:

Prevent gum retreat with a soft toothbrush.When cleaning, do not press too hard on the enamel, as this may damage it. If you have a habit of brushing your teeth in vertical up and down strokes, point the brush at a forty-five-degree angle to the gums and gently brush sensitive areas.

Brush your teeth thoroughly for 2-3 minutes. Dental floss removes food debris and plaque from the hard-to-reach area between your teeth. You should brush your teeth at least twice a day and get into the habit of flossing your teeth after a meal.

Use a paste specially formulated for sensitive teeth, such as Sensodyne or another that contains strontium chloride and potassium nitrate. Sensodyne directly pains the nerve of the tooth and contains ingredients that, when in contact with saliva, form crystals that cover the exposed root.

Use a fluoride mouthwash. This liquid will gently desensitize your teeth. Use this at least once a day. Ask your dentist which fluid is best for you.

You can apply the toothpaste to sensitive teeth on unprotected dentin and leave it overnight. Repeat this for two to three weeks for best results.

Avoid citrus fruits, tea and carbonated drinks. These products can increase tooth sensitivity and reduce the effects of hypersensitive toothpaste.