Proper tooth brushing

Now we will talk about proper tooth brushing. In this article we present an interview with dentist Tania Hatzipanagiotidou. The dentist answers the question: "can you give us some instructions on how we should brush our teeth?"

Mrs.Hadjipanagiotidou started by saying that first of all we have to say that we are not born knowing how to brush, someone has to teach us. So it is all too natural that we do not know what to do with the brush. What I need to do with the brush is to remove the dental plaque that accumulates on my teeth every day.

Dental plate

Dental plaque is the "plaque" that builds up on our teeth when we don't brush them. In fact, it is created every day by food, but even if we don't eat anything because of the normal microbes in our mouths. There are normal microbes in our mouth, which daily adhere to the teeth, taking the form of plaque, this "creamy" plaque, as we explained before. The plaque goes on all the surfaces of our teeth, essentially covering our teeth daily on every surface of our teeth. The plaque is of course lightly adhered to our teeth, but firmly enough that it does not come off with mouthwashes. In very simple terms, the plaque does not come off my tooth if I use mouthwash or water, that is, if I do a curl and spit.

How to remove the dental plaque

In order to remove the dental plaque, something mechanical has to be inserted and that is the brush bristle. So in order for the plaque to come off each surface of my teeth, the brush bristle has to reach out and touch each surface of my tooth. So it is certain that in some places the plaque will remain stuck, for example if I brush the front surface of my tooth and my brush only reaches one spot and not the whole surface of the tooth. The plaque stuck on the teeth for more than 2-3 days starts to absorb salts from the saliva and hardens and becomes tartar. If this happens then we need our tool (ultrasound) here in the office to remove it. So we understand that we need to catch the stone in the form of plaque to remove it when it is still soft.

Tooth brushing time

It has been proven that it takes at least 4 minutes a day to say that I brushed my teeth effectively, to say that I reached every surface of my teeth with the brush bristle on all my teeth. Maybe for a "beginner", in quotes, on the brushing part, the new brushing way, it might take a little more than that. That is, in the beginning the whole process is done consciously, I say now I'm on the front surface, I brush my front surface, I brush my back surface, I get in between the teeth, I go further back. What is done consciously in the beginning slowly over time will become unconscious. I know how I'm going to brush and I'm not thinking about it while I'm doing it. But it definitely takes me 4 minutes to brush my teeth the way I should. Many people even put a timer on at the beginning to be sure.

Tricks for good tooth brushing

A trick I often tell my patients is not to put too much toothpaste on their teeth. So I say this: "Put very little toothpaste on, because toothpaste foams and you need to rinse immediately. Put very little toothpaste on. You don't need more toothpaste and that's because the 95% of the brushing treatment is done by the brush, not the cream! A 5% is only done by the cream with the fluoride it contains, so basically if you were to brush your teeth with water you would have more or less the same effect." So I put very little toothpaste on and brush all the way back, everywhere, on every surface of my tooth, for 4 minutes anyway.

Which toothbrush to choose

Usually there are some toothbrushes that have fine bristles and fit nicely between the teeth. One of those is this one (shows the toothbrush) and what I do is this. I teach the patient how to brush. I brush the front surfaces normally, I also touch the gums all the way back, gently, without force, touch the entire surface of my teeth, and then statically press the brush lightly until the bristles get in between the teeth.

How to brush your teeth

It is a special brush and has very fine bristles to get in between the teeth and clean them nicely. So locally, without moving around anymore, just by pressing the brush, like a toothpick goes between the teeth, so, I press very little to get the bristles in between my teeth. I also brush the interdental areas of the teeth, up to the back area, everywhere and here and on the lower jaw, the chewing surfaces. On the lower jaw I put a little bit of an upward slope, and on the upper jaw I put a little bit of a downward slope. On the lower jaw I put a little upward slope and press locally to get the hairs in between. In this way I effectively clean my front surfaces as well as the back as well as the areas of the tooth between these two surfaces, removing the plaque from each tooth surface daily.

Tip for brushing your teeth

Another thing I say that often helps my patients is this: "You will think of the tooth as a dusty black man's shoe, with its laces, its holes, etc. If I go to dust it with a big brush, where is the dust going to come off? Only where the bristle of my brush touched! If I don't go to the side to brush, if I don't press a little bit to get it into the holes of the shoe, it won't dust the shoe." Exactly the same thing is the tooth, meaning I have to get the brush bristle to reach all over every surface of my tooth to "dust" within quotes from the plaque, that cremains responsible for all the evils of the mouth, namely gingivitis, periodontitis and cavities. All oral poop comes from plaque, from this cream that I have to remove every day.

Is there a possibility of gum injury?

So that's why I say that when I brush the front surface of my teeth I don't use force, I use gentle force and there are even specific brushes that protect the gums. That is, there are some people who brush with too much force on their teeth and gums. In this case they injure them and the gums can "lift" from the injury. There are special brushes for those who do this, that is, there is a little plastic one that basically has a dynamometer. I hold it here and if I apply more force this top part bends and won't let me apply force. That way I get used to the new force I have to put in. Now if I brush gently here and press statically, without moving any more, just statically, putting the bristles between the teeth, then I don't injure my gums that way. This is necessary to do, to put the bristles a little bit between, statically, but not to move to clean between the teeth. The same work can be done with floss, with dental floss, just very often, very often one is bored to use it, that is, many people start eagerly brushing and flossing and at some point they may give it up, whereas using a brush of this type and in this way I think can solve such problems.

How do we ask her for the right toothbrush?

You will consult with your dentist who knows and will guide you accordingly.

After all that you have told us, Mr. Hadjipanagiotidou, should all of us non-knowledgeable people, who have not brushed our teeth well for so long, feel guilty?

Good brushing and frequent visits to the dentist

Regrets no. What was to be done was done. Maybe there are some old sins in the mouth, fillings or whatever, but those have happened. But from now on I can restore the health inside my mouth, which means I can do whatever fillings I need to do, possibly some other treatments and from there with the brushing I showed you and a checkup once a semester at the dentist, I can avoid further interference with my teeth because I won't need to do anything else. A maybe possibly a cleaning once every six months because we are not gods, as someone may have a tartar at some point and that alone. With a good brushing and regular visits to the dentist I avoid the bad stuff, ie fillings, gingivitis, periodontitis etc.

Dentist in Glyfada

Mrs. Hadjipanagiotidou is a dental surgeon specializing in cosmetic dentistry. She has dentist's office in Glyfada, in the center of Glyfada..

 

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