Mundhygiene-Guide

Oral hygiene is a very important aspect if you don’t want to end up losing your teeth. It starts with the basic routine; that is toothbrushing. Your teeth need to be brushed for as long as it takes to get them clean. The “two-minute rule” is a general guideline to adhere. There is a consistent difference in the time that patients believe they brush, and the time they spend brushing. If you think you’re brushing for 2 minutes, you might actually be brushing for just a minute. Try timing yourself the next time and notice how long 2 minutes is. The type of your toothbrush is also an area that we need to pay attention to. Today, there are still many that believe hard bristles are better when in fact soft bristles are the preferred choice. Brushing techniques can be learned so that you take care of your oral hygiene perfectly.

Another aspect is tongue cleaning. When we sleep, our digestive system is still working to eliminate toxins from our body. Some of these toxins are being deposited onto the tongue’s surface. If these toxins are not scrapped away, they get reabsorbed and can lead to digestive problems, respiratory difficulties, and a compromised immune system. Recent research has concluded that a tongue scraper is more effective at removing bacteria and toxins from the tongue compared to a toothbrush. Even though flossing and brushing can loosen and move debris around, they do not remove the bacteria. You’d be surprised that half of our oral flora lives in the deep crevices of our tongue. The scraping action of a tongue scraper can collect these toxic tongue coatings and removes them from the body. The toxic byproducts that stick on the tongue can range in color from white, yellow, or green.

Gum diseases and missing teeth usually go hand in hand. Whenever dentist mentions gum disease, it does not mean irritation and bleeding for a short period; it can become serious which leads to tooth loss. It is crucial to identify a gum disease on its onset so that proper diagnosis can be made and the treatment pattern decided.

When gum disease happens, it often takes place with a bacterial infection which irritates the gums, bones, ligaments and the teeth. The treatment is painless if the disease is detected at an earlier stage. Some of the risk factors which can lead to gum diseases are smoking, hormonal changes, diabetes, certain medications or even be due to genetics.

Studies have shown that gum diseases occur more often to those in their 30s or 40s. Research also shows that men are more prone to suffer from these than women. Teenagers can also get gum diseases, but generally they develop gingivitis only.

As they say in health, prevention is better than cure. Also, mouth rinse might be indicated if a person is prone to dental disease due to low saliva flow or severe malocclusion rendering self-care difficult. If floss weren’t used for all areas of the mouth, the dentist might recommend interdental brush especially for gaps between teeth that are large.