Many of the actions performed by a person in everyday life, brought him almost to automatism. Oral hygiene also refers to them. Carrying out this important procedure, it is unlikely that anyone will think about fairly simple questions, namely what is it for, is it important, and are we doing it right?
Main goals
There are several reasons why every person needs to brush their teeth.
This is necessary, first of all, to visit the dentist only for the purpose of a routine examination. And healthy teeth are necessary for each of us to:
- Chew food. Proper placement and good dental health is necessary not only to decorate the appearance of a person. Similar criteria are needed for other purposes. If we consider the digestive system, then the mouth in it is the first mechanism necessary for processing food. During its chewing, the products are crushed, and they are saturated with saliva. Thanks to this process, further digestion of food in the stomach and intestines is much faster and easier. If the food is not sufficiently crushed and saturated with saliva, this will have a negative effect on its digestibility. And only those people who have strong and healthy teeth in their mouth can thoroughly process the absorbed food.
- Correctly form sounds. What allows a person to have a clear diction? Forming sounds during a conversation, each of us uses not only our lips and tongue. Teeth are also involved. And if their number is incomplete, then a person will not be able to speak clearly. Irregular tooth growth also has a negative effect on diction. And even the loss of only the front will lead to the fact that a person will begin to lisp. If this happens in childhood, then peers may stop talking to such a child. As a result, a small person will become closed, moving away from society.
In addition, each of us needs to brush our teeth so that they are healthy. Indeed, many dental diseases, including caries, are much easier to prevent than to deal with its treatment later. The incorrect growth of the dentition in children is also quite dangerous, because such a phenomenon for the baby threatens to lose health.
That is why it is so important to follow all the necessary rules for brushing your teeth. After all, ignoring them will cause serious complications, the treatment of which will take a lot of time and require a large amount of funds.
Frequency of procedures
How many times to brush your teeth? Dentists recommend doing this twice a day. The optimal time for such a procedure is morning and evening hours. Subject to the specified regime, it becomes possible to maintain its oral cavity in proper cleanliness around the clock.
More recently, it was believed that the best option is brushing your teeth three times a day. However, as a result of the research, it turned out that with excessive mechanical impact on the enamel, it becomes thinner. This is also confirmed by the accumulated clinical experience. That is why dentists have come to the conclusion that the desired amount of hygiene is twice a day.
Morning cleaning
How to brush your teeth - before meals or after breakfast? In this matter, experts were not able to come to a consensus. Some of them are supporters of the fasting procedure. However, they give the following arguments:
- Due to scanty night salivation in the oral cavity, acidity significantly increases. Because of this, there is an activation of the multiplication of microorganisms, which, together with the morning meal, enter the person in the stomach. Over time, all this can cause the development of pathology.
- Having an unpleasant aftertaste or smell in the mouth in the morning affects appetite.
- Many people suffer from enamel sensitivity while eating certain foods. By brushing your teeth after eating, you can only make the problem worse. Using a paste containing fluoride strengthens the enamel. This allows her to protect herself from the effects of aggressive food.
However, there is an opposite opinion on whether to brush your teeth before or after a meal. Proponents of the need for oral hygiene at the end of breakfast give the following arguments in favor of their position:
- Stayed in the interdental space, food debris will begin to undergo a process of decay. In this regard, a person will have an unpleasant odor from the mouth and the gingival papillae will become inflamed.
- Using pastes containing antimicrobial substances, it is possible to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microflora in those areas that were damaged by too hard products.
- If you take food after a hygiene event, then the aroma of toothpaste will be added to its taste. This will unpleasantly distort the original characteristics of the products.
- During fasting, abrasive particles of the paste can thin the tooth enamel. In tea and coffee lovers, it will acquire a brown tint. If you brush your teeth after breakfast, then a similar plaque can be removed immediately.
As we see, the arguments presented by both sides are quite weighty. And each of them has its own rational kernel. That is why a person can develop their own rules for brushing your teeth, taking into account the advantages of these approaches. When developing an individual scheme of measures that support oral health, it is recommended to use the following options:
- to clean the surface of the tongue on which the plaque is located, which is an accumulation of pathogenic microorganisms;
- irrigate the oral cavity before breakfast using an antimicrobial rinse;
- brush your teeth before eating, and rinse after it.
Limit paste
What are the rules for brushing your teeth? Caring for the oral cavity during the daytime is recommended without the use of paste. An excess of such a tool can negatively affect dental health. This is especially true when the paste contains a high level of abrasive elements. They thin the enamel. At the same time, the teeth become very sensitive even to harmless ice cream or coffee, which cause discomfort and pain.
Cleaning Features
Sticking to the right amount of procedures is far from the most important thing when following the rules of brushing your teeth. It is also necessary to observe the technique. What is the algorithm for such a procedure?
Toothbrushing begins with the fact that they take a brush and apply a small amount of paste on it. Often, people believe that the more funds are taken, the better your teeth will be cleaned. However, it is not. The paste must be taken in a very small amount, literally the size of a pea. A remedy in excess of this amount will most likely be absorbed by a person, which is very dangerous for the body.
At the next stage, you can proceed to the cleaning itself. It represents the execution of vertical movements. It is not necessary to press the brush strongly to the enamel. It is more important to keep it in the right position, which in relation to the gums should be 45 degrees.
When cleaning the surface of the dentition, you will need to gradually move from one side to the other. Dentists recommend lingering on each tooth for approximately 10 seconds. To make it more convenient, the mouth is conditionally divided into four sections, giving each of them 30 seconds. As a result, the procedure will take about 2 minutes.
Next, go to the molars. When cleaning, the brush should be perpendicular to the upper or lower lip. The procedure is carried out using translational movements.
The next step will be the transition to the inside of the teeth. It should be borne in mind that it is in this zone that pathogenic bacteria accumulate most of all. To perform the procedure, you should open your mouth wide. This will allow you to get to any inaccessible place.
Refreshing the breath will allow cleansing of the tongue and the inside of the cheeks. According to dentists, it is here that there are clusters of more than 60% of pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity.
After brushing, rinse your mouth with warm water. Moreover, it does not have to be bottled. Suitable for such a procedure and tap water. It can be taken into the mouth from a glass or from a hand. Dental solutions are available for sale. They can be used to rinse instead of water.
Finishing the procedure, you need to wash the brush. This is necessary to remove bacteria from its bristles. It is recommended to change the brush every 3-4 months.
Why brush your child’s teeth?
Some parents believe that young children do not need to care for their oral cavity. After all, their teeth are still milky, and over time others will grow in their place. However, such an opinion is erroneous. The enamel that covers baby teeth is very weak. Because of this, she is easily affected by caries. With this disease, a source of infection is formed in the oral cavity, which can penetrate the body and cause quite serious pathologies, ranging from tonsillitis and ending with pyelonephritis.
The acquaintance at such an early age with the dentist will not please the baby either. After all, this is pain, and sometimes tooth extraction, which is extremely undesirable.
At what age should babies care for their oral cavity? It is rather difficult to name a specific period for accustoming to such procedures.
What do dentists say about this? When to start brushing your baby? This must be done from the moment they appear. And this process is individual for each child. This happens in about 6 months. However, teething is sometimes earlier. This event can happen and only by the year of the life of the little one.
Of course, at this age, the child will not be able to perform such procedures on his own. That is why parents will need to purchase a silicone fingertip brush. With it, they must clean the oral cavity of their child. In this case, toothpaste should be used.
When to start brushing your baby’s teeth on their own? At about two years old, children should be taught to rinse their mouth after eating. In this case, parents need to explain that such a procedure is necessary for the health of the child and that he needs to do it on his own.
At what age do you brush your teeth? The child should begin to do this from about the same two years. Parents need to give him a toothbrush.
How to teach a child to brush his teeth? The most effective way will be a personal example. He will act better than any persuasion and explanation. Parents should take their child to the bathroom and carry out morning procedures with him. The kid needs to be given a brush so that he tries to repeat the movements of adults. And although at first it would be nothing more than a game for him, but gradually it will certainly become a habit.
The baby needs to select toothpaste for his age. So, for those peanuts who have not yet received complementary foods, it should be gel-like and have a milky or neutral taste. This will not cause the baby unpleasant sensations. Children familiar with complementary foods can buy pastas with fruit flavors (banana, strawberries, raspberries, etc.).
If there are braces
These devices help return the teeth to the correct position. How, in this case, to take care of the oral cavity? How to brush your teeth at home, when braces are installed on them, can be told in detail by the attending dentist. Of course, this procedure has its own characteristics and is not such a simple process.
For high-quality toothbrushing, you must:
- position the brush, as in the usual care procedure, and, making short movements, back and forth, clean each tooth;
- the same movements should be walked on each surface of the tooth;
- to clean chewing surfaces well, including the farthest teeth;
- carry out a similar procedure near the braces, doing it carefully so as not to bend or break the device.
If the teeth are braces, then you need to clean the oral cavity 3 times a day.
Brush selection
These toothbrushes should have small heads. This rule applies to toothbrushes not only for children, but also for adults.
This design will allow the device to be more mobile and better clean out the remnants of food located in hard-to-reach areas.
Dental floss
There are various dentifrices. One of them is a special thread, which dentists recommend using daily. With its help, you can get rid of plaque, as well as small pieces of food that remain between the teeth after eating.
How to use a thread? To do this, you will need:
- cut off about 40 cm of its length and wind the ends around the middle fingers, between which leave about 5 cm of thread for cleaning;
- hold the tool with index fingers and thumbs, while simultaneously wrapping a tooth, creating the shape of the letter “C”;
- gently move the floss between the teeth, cleaning it with all the space between them;
- walk with this tool in the area of the base of each tooth by cleaning the cervical part of the gum.
During the procedure, the thread must be constantly moved, winding from one finger to another. This will allow you to use its clean area for each of the teeth. It is essential that all movements performed are smooth and accurate. Otherwise, the thread will damage the delicate gum tissue.
This procedure for cleaning the oral cavity is quite simple. Moreover, you need to accustom yourself to perform it.
For toothbrushing, manufacturers offer Teflon or Nylon floss. The first of these two devices is more expensive, but working with them is much more convenient. They easily penetrate everything, even the smallest crevices.
Electric brush
Such devices for caring for the oral cavity in recent years are increasingly used by consumers. With their help, a more thorough procedure is possible. The device works thanks to a tiny motor that is built into the housing. It makes the bristles vibrate, and they, in turn, perfectly remove even the smallest remnants of food.
How long does it take to brush my teeth with an electric brush? For the entire oral procedure, 2 minutes are enough. At the same time, freshness and purity are guaranteed to be obtained without much effort on the part of man. The device is pre-programmed for the necessary movements, and also does not require any pressure.
How to brush your teeth with an electric brush? After preparing the device for operation, its nozzle is moistened with water and a small amount of paste is applied. You need to start the procedure from the outside of the teeth. The cleaning head of the brush should slowly move in the oral cavity. How much to brush your teeth in time? For each of them you need to take 1-2 seconds. No movements are necessary. After all, the device has already been programmed for the necessary method of rotation.
How to brush your teeth with an electric brush, if we are talking about their inner surface? The technique here is the same. The device must be slowly advanced along the dentition. It should be borne in mind that the brush should always be at an angle of 45 degrees to the gum. But when the front teeth are cleaned, it will need to be positioned vertically.
Irrigator
To carry out dental hygiene can also be using another special apparatus. It is an irrigator. The principle of operation of such a device is quite simple. It cleanses the oral cavity from food debris and microorganisms accumulated in it with the help of water pressure.
How to use an irrigator - a device for cleaning teeth? To do this, just select the mode and pressure head on it. After turning on the device, a water jet will perfectly clean the interdental space, reduce the risk of tooth decay, and also have a massage effect on the gums, improving metabolism and blood circulation in the tissues. The duration of the procedure is 3-10 minutes. This time is enough for the device to fulfill its main tasks.