Oral Care

Brushing

Teeth should be brushed with toothpaste containing fluorine to ensure oral hygiene. The ideal brush should be used to clean every area in the mouth. The brush must be soft or moderate stiffness, with straight handles, short heads, hair ends rounded, and changes from patient to patient. Brushes must be changed every three months. Although electric brushes look practical today, flat brushes also provide adequate oral hygiene.

Which brushing method is most ideal?

For people without gum recession, Bass technique is one of the most effective methods for tooth brushing. In the Bass technique, the mouth is opened slightly to allow the brush moving smoothly, and it is recommended to start from the upper jaw. At the upper jaw, a 45-degree slope is applied to the brush, half of the brush hair on the teeth. The combination of forward-back and round movements is entered into the gum area and repeated 5-10 times. A brush size is advanced and applied to all regions on the upper jaw. The same process is applied to the inner areas, so the brush can be held vertically to allow for convenient brushing in the front areas. The chewing surfaces of the teeth are also brushed. The same procedure can be repeated as dry, especially for smokers after brushing.

What toothbrush should I choose for my child, how old should I use toothpaste?

The brush with soft and synthetic hair with small heads is the ideal brush for the child’s mouth structure.

Toothpaste is not recommended during infancy and until age 3. It is best to brush with low-fluoride toothpastes for children after age 3.

Rather than the amount of toothpaste in the commercials, a toothpaste in the size of a lentil is sufficient.

How many times a day should I brush teeth?

3 minutes of brushing after breakfast and before going to bed in the evening is sufficient. Do not eat or drink after brushing at night before going to bed. Remember that bacteria in your mouth work more while you sleep.

Interdental cleaners

No matter the brushing method or toothpaste, it does not provide interdental cleaning. For interdental cleaning, dental floss, interdental brushes, toothpick, rubber tip, irrigation tools, and chemical tools are used.

Using dental floss

- Cut approximately 30 cm in length.

- Wrap it to the middle fingers until 10 cm of dental floss remains.

- Then hold with the thumb and index fingers until 1 cm of dental floss remains.

- The dental floss must be vertical between the teeth and parallel to the floor.

- Wherever cleaning is to be done, the opposite hand should be placed in the mouth.

- Thoroughly encapsulate the tooth surface and clean it with up to 5-6 impacts.

- The same procedure applies to all teeth, and the faces of the two teeth facing each other in the entered area are cleaned.

Interdental brush

It is used by entering between teeth from the lip or palate area and back and forth. Apply before brushing before going to bed at night.