Brushing your teeth: You should brush your teeth every morning after breakfast and in the evening before bed for at least two minutes. The recommended brushing method is the modified Bass technique that recommends the brush to be held with a pencil grip and to tilt the brush head to about a 45-degree angle with some of the bristles touching your gum, making sure the bristles are pointing under the gum line. Use tiny circular motions, allowing the bristles to slide gently under the gum. Do this for about 10 strokes or circles per area. It is very important to brush all areas of the teeth, using small circular motions for the outer tooth surfaces, while biting surfaces should be brushed using a gentle back and forth scrubbing motion. The tongue should also be brushed from back to front and the brushing process should finish with a final rinse. The toothbrush should have soft bristles and the head should be small enough to reach the teeth in the back of the mouth. A pea-sized amount of toothpaste should be applied to the tooth brush.
Along with thorough and regular brushing, further maintenance is needed on your dental restorations using additional dental cleaning aids:
Additional dental cleaning aids for maintaining oral hygiene:
Mouthwash: can reach places where toothbrushes cannot. Not only does mouthwash act as an antibacterial agent, it also reduces bad breath. Mouthwashes do not replace brushing, but act as a supplemental practice for better oral hygiene. They are best used after brushing. Mouthwash should be rinsed around the mouth and then spit out. You should not rinse your mouth with water after using mouthwash.
Mouthwashes that contain chlorhexidine (eg. Parodontax extra, Curasept) should not be used for more than two weeks at a time because they can stain your teeth. They should be used half an hour after brushing your teeth, or right after brushing if the toothpaste does not contain sodium-lauryl-sulfate SLS (eg. Parodontax)
Superfloss: If you have dental restorations in your mouth, such as dental bridges, flossing can dramatically improve your homecare routine by keeping your gums and teeth under the bridge clean. It would be best to use a special kind of dental floss, called superfloss, which comes in two sections. One segment is thin and stiff which allows you to thread it through tight areas and get under your bridge. The other segment is soft and fuzzy allowing you to floss the area underneath the bridge. Superfloss can also be used for cleaning dental implants and braces. A small amount of toothpaste or mouthwash can be applied to the floss. Superfloss should be used after brushing.
Dental floss: It is recommended you use dental floss every time after brushing in order to reach the gums between your teeth (interdental papilla). Some dental flosses are treated with mint or other anti-bacterial waxes. Wrap the dental floss around your left and right middle fingers and using your index fingers slowly slide the floss between two teeth and move the floss up and down against the surface of the side of the tooth. The point where two adjacent teeth touch each other is called a contact point, and is the point the dental floss should pass through before we begin cleaning. Gently guide the floss between your teeth, making sure not to let it snap into your gums as this can harm the papilla (a small triangle of gum between your teeth). This snapping can be avoided by keeping the dental floss taut and gently guiding it through the contact point. Gently floss around the base of each tooth and around the gum line.
Interdental brushes clean your interdental space and should be used after brushing. They are manufactured in various sizes, and you can select the right size brush to fit in the gaps between your teeth. The brush is gently inserted between the teeth and should be moved full length back and forth a few times. This helps remove plaque accumulated between your teeth.
Oral irrigators (water flossers): clean hard-to-reach places that toothbrushes cannot. They use a stream of pulsating water to remove plaque and debris between the teeth and massage the gums. Oral irrigators clean gaps between the teeth, around the gum margin, into periodontal pockets, around dentures, bridges and implants. They are particularly useful if you have implants, crowns, bridges or braces, or if you have gingivitis, bleeding gums, receding gums or periodontal pockets.
