Normal dental hygiene

enda1

This may sound stupid but is there an accepted best practice for dental hygiene?

So what is the best toothpaste?

Best toothbrush?
-firm/medium/soft?
-large/medium/soft?
-certain make?

Mouthwash or not?
-alcohol based or not?

Floss or not?
-waxed/not?

Brush you tongue?

Number of time per day to brush?
-twice?
-after every meal?
-after every food/drink?

Kila

I should caveat this by saying that I'm not a dental professional, just someone who is interested in her own dental hygiene very much (having spend major bucks to get lovely straight teeth!).

I believe that a soft brush is preferable, as hard brushes can damage the gums. I'm sure a dentist can correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think that brushing too hard with a hard brush can lead to bigger gum problems in later life.

Re: toothpaste - I like sensodyne pronamel. I don't know if the adverts are true, but I figure it can't hurt. It keeps my teeth feeling clean and I'm happy with it.

Re: mouthwash, I haven't done enough research to really comment, I'm afraid.

Re: tongue brushing - yes! No point in brushing all the rest of your mouth and not cleaning your tongue. It would be like washing only your torso, but none of your limbs!

Re: flossing - yes! It promotes good gum health, leads to a more clean mouth, and can help prevent interdental cavities. Whether you do it before or after you brush seems to be a personal preference thing, but again, I'm open to correction by a professional here.

nedward

A soft toothbrush is always best, as a harder brush does not remove any more plaque and can abrade the gums, leading to recession. Use a toothpaste containing fluoride, which helps protect against decay. Colgate Total is fairly widely recommended, as it contains an extra antibacterial agent. As for mouthwash, use something containing fluoride. Containing alcohol or not does not make a significant difference to your oral health, as far as I know. You should rinse at a different time to when you brush, to get the maximum effect of the fluoride.
Flossing is very important. The waxed floss is easier to use, so try that at first, or if you have big gaps between adjacent teeth, try interdental brushes.

Try brushing twice a day, morning and evening. There has been no substantiated reports of improvement in oral hygiene by brushing more often. Brush for 3 minutes at a time.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Best toothbrush

-soft
-No specific size
-No specific make.
- Some electric brushes have show to be better than a manual however there are studies to the contrary also. Technique is most important not product.

Mouthwash or not?
- No harm.
- Standard corsydol will stain your teeth, not for everyday use (they have a mild one for this)
- I prefer non alochol.

Floss or not?
-Only floss the teeth you wish to keep.
- I like waxed tape, les likely to fray .
- twice a day

Brush you tongue?
- yes

Number of time per day to brush?
-twice.

This is my general opinion, however for certain people and high risk individuals the scheme has to be customised.

I really enjoyed the stetch and there may be some truth in it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJSlRyQfho4

ballsymchugh

there was a study i came across when in college saying that soft brushes did more damage than hard ones, so pay attention. the stuff in the toothpaste that does the bulk of the cleaning is silica. whitening toothpastes, for example, have bigger size silica than regular toothpaste. however, normally when you brush, the toothpaste is spread over the teeth and disappears pretty quickly, but with a soft brush, the toothpaste is held more within the bristles and with the combined action of the brushing and the silica, your teeth can wear away if you're a vigorous brusher.

flossing is very important. if you don't, you're missing half the dirt building up between the teeth. if you told a periodontist that you didn't floss, then you'd automatically be given a plaque score of 50%.

and time, on average, people only spend 37 seconds brushing, if you have a normal toothbrush, get yourself an egg timer!