An Introduction to Oral Hygiene

Your mouth is part of your body, its easy to forget this when you aren't troubled by pain or discomfort. The bacteria in the mouth, if left to its own devices, can cause inflammation and decay. Gum disease is connected with bowel cancer, heart disease, diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke and even has some links to premature pregnancy outcomes. Your mouth is one part of a biological machine, it stands to reason that if you don't look after your oral hygiene then it will be detrimental to the rest of your 'machine'.

Confidence is also a major reason, stained teeth and smelly breath are enough to make anyone feel self conscious. Replace that with clean teeth and fresh breath and you'll be smiling at everyone, grinning away, making you appear happier, healthier and even younger to boot.

Time and money are a third factor, if you visit the dentist and hygienist regularly and keep up your dental regime at home then you are less likely to need large amounts of dental treatment. Think of it in terms of gardening, the dentist is like a landscaper, they go in and do all the major refurbishments and create a stable environment, then you have to do the general maintenance and the 'weeding' for yourself.  An extra minute in the bathroom before bed, flossing, is by far preferable to an hour and a half in the dental chair having a root canal treatment. 

Plaque is a film of bacteria and saliva that sticks to your teeth, it collects along the gum margins and  in between the teeth. Toxins in plaque can cause inflammation and gum disease, and the bacteria can also cause tooth decay. Plaque can easily be removed by careful brushing and flossing. If left on the teeth for too long minerals in your saliva can start to harden the plaque and it becomes tartar. This usually forms first behind your lower front teeth, see if you can feel any with your tongue. Tartar is hard and so cannot be removed by brushing. You will have to see your dentist or hygienist to have it removed with an ultrasonic or other hand tools that will remove the tartar without damaging your gums or enamel. The best way to avoid tartar though is to remove the plaque before it can harden.

Sometimes tartar can be left so long it will grow dense enough to show up on an xray. Hi-lighted in the red circles you can see the tartar deposits attached to the teeth. The second xray was taken a few years later, the patient had been to see the hygienist, had the deposits removed and has kept up a good level of oral hygiene ever since. The tartar did not return and the teeth had remained stable and healthy.

Wandering around the house doing last minute things whilst brushing our teeth, or maybe you do it in the shower. Either way you aren't paying attention, I'll bet you missed a few bits. The best brushing is methodical. Lets start with the basics, get yourself a medium bristled toothbrush and a fluoride toothpaste. They can be as fancy as you like or as plain as can be, as long as the toothpaste has fluoride in you're sitting pretty.

Apply a strip of toothpaste along the brush and wet it if you like. Split your mouth into 4, upper left and right, and lower left and right. Start in a different quadrant each time you brush to ensure one area doesn't get all the attention. Clean a whole quadrant before moving on to the next. Start at one quadrant and gently move the brush in a circular motion over the surface of the tooth for a few seconds and move on to the next tooth. Continue doing this for all the outer surfaces. Next, move the brush head in gentle circular motions along the inner surfaces of all teeth in that quadrant, concentrating on the insides of your lower front teeth as this is where tartar is most likely to develop and the area is often neglected. Don't forget to clean the biting surfaces of your teeth, these are full of pits and fissures, or 'rivers' where debris can gather and decay can begin. Remember your back teeth too, if you brush in front of a mirror and work methodically then you can ensure you won't miss any surfaces or plaque deposits. Once you've finished, spit out, but don't rinse your mouth. The longer the fluoride is on your teeth the better.

Remember to be gentle, plaque has the consistency of blancmange, its easy to remove with a brush. Staining and tartar will have to be removed by a dentist, your hard scrubbing only serves to wear away your gums and enamel, causing sensitivity and gum recession.

 It is recommended that you angle the toothbrush at 45° towards the gum. If you look at the picture to the left you can see that if a toothbrush is held flat there are areas between the teeth being missed, these are hi-lighted in the red circles. But if you angle the toothbrush towards the gum the bristles can easily fit in between the gaps and give you a better brush. If you are having trouble remembering which way to angle the brush then the simple rhyme: "Uppers towards the nose, lowers towards the toes" Should serve. Whilst this method does clean more in between surfaces of the teeth than the flat brush it does not replace flossing and other inter-dental cleaning methods.