A guide to proper oral hygiene

Regular dental checkups and proper oral hygiene are key to maintaining oral health in the long term.

Even as children, we learned that we should brush our teeth 2 to 3 times a day for three minutes. But proper oral hygiene means much more than that.

Plaque accumulates on all surfaces of our teeth. Plaque builds up very quickly and needs to be constantly removed by regular washing. Otherwise, caries may occur as well as various inflammatory changes in the gums.

There is a very large selection of oral hygiene products on the market, and below we provide the most important information for proper use and proper selection.

When talking about a toothbrush, it is recommended to use soft or medium-hard brushes with a smaller head and as many fibres as possible. Such a brush will make it possible to reach more distant tooth surfaces and remove plaque more efficiently compared to brushes with a large head, which contain various rubber parts in addition to fibres.

It is very important to use appropriate pressure with the brush on the teeth – it must not be too strong because it could result in receding gums and the appearance of recessions, especially in combination with a hard brush. Light pressure is key in preventing the aforementioned condition – it is said that it should not be stronger than the pressure when writing with a pen on paper.

“Scrubbing” the teeth = Trauma to the dentures

A large number of people still do not know the correct movements with which to brush their teeth. Most people think that the teeth should be “brushed” by making horizontal movements with the brush back and forth. It is wrong and represents a trauma to the gums.

The teeth should be brushed with gentle circular movements in such a way that the brush is placed at the junction of the teeth and the gums and gently rotated at an angle of 45 degrees (upwards in the upper jaw and downwards in the lower jaw). With such a position of the brush, its fibres enter the initial part of the gingival sulcus, which needs to be brushed from plaque.

In this way, we clean the front and inner surfaces of the teeth, staying on each tooth for a few seconds. Then the occlusal/biting surfaces of the teeth should be brushed.

Did you know that after brushing with a toothbrush, 2/5 teeth remain unclened?

Dental floss and/or interdental brushes should be used to clean surfaces that cannot be brushed by a brush. They clean narrow spaces between 2 teeth.

This is extremely important because, in patients who do not have this habit, the occurrence of approximal caries on the lateral surfaces is more frequent.

When using the thread, it is important to emphasize that it is pushed towards the gums by sliding forward/backwards with light movements. Interdental brushes are used a little differently.

They are placed against the gums between 2 teeth and are pulled into the space below the contact point. It is important to choose the right size for them. We recommend that you always start with the smaller ones, and if necessary, take a larger one.

Toothbrushes need to be changed every 2-3 months because a large number of bacteria accumulate on them and the fibres wear out over time, reducing the effectiveness of cleaning the teeth.

Should I use an electric brush and how much better is it than a normal brush?

Numerous studies have shown that an electric toothbrush cleans teeth better than an ordinary toothbrush and that people who use it have healthier gums, less cavities and healthier teeth for a longer period.

The reason for the greater efficiency of electric brushes is that they perform rotation and vibration movements, making a much larger number of micro-movements in a unit of time than is possible with an ordinary brush.

Despite this, even an ordinary brush, if used in the correct way, described above, can clean your teeth very effectively.

In addition to the toothbrush, it is also mandatory to use toothpaste, the most important of which is that it contains the appropriate concentration of fluoride (for adults 1450 ppm, and children 500 ppm) because they promote the remineralization of hard dental tissues.

There are also additional products such as mouthwashes, tongue cleaners and oral douches.

Their use can contribute to improving oral hygiene, but it cannot replace a brush, paste, floss and interdental brushes, which, along with regular visits to the dentist, are crucial for maintaining the health of the oral cavity.