Jennifer's Dental Hygiene Page
Welcome the wonderful world of teeth!
Your teeth are very important, so treat then that way!
Visit your Dentist and Hygienist regularly!
Plaque vs. Calculus (aka Tartar)
What is the difference you ask? Why, LOTSYou can remove plaque with your toothbrush, it is that white sticky stuff on yout teeth near the gumline.
Calculus (tartar) is hardened plaque, you can not remove it, no matter how hard you brush, so don't try! You will end up brushing away your gums!! Calculus forms where you are not removing the plaque effectively.
For most people the common areas are in between teeth (floss!!), behind your lower front teeth, and the outside of your top back teeth.
Do you brush the right way?
Most people THINK they are, but the truth is. . . THEY ARE NOT!!
First off, are you brushing with a soft bristled toothbrush? You should NEVER use anything but that! Now, don't brush too hard either! Moderate pressure is all you need! Hold the toothbrush like a pen to prevent yourself from pressing too hard!
Now! Technique! Be sure you brush every surface! Front and back, biting surface, and even your tongue! (Most bacteria is on your tongue!! YUCK!)
Angle the brush so it is half on your tooth and half on your gums angled toward your gums, and vibrate your brush back and forth on only a couple teeth at a time, don't rush! Finish with a rolling motion away from your gums. (this gets the gunk off that you have vibrated loose!)
Now did you do this for every tooth and surface? It takes a little bit longer than you are probably spending now right? But it is doing a much better job!
Now that you know you have to clean every surface, what do you do about the surfaces in between each of your teeth that you can't reach with your toothbrush?
This is where FLOSS comes in, oh no! Did you know that very few people floss, and you are supposed to floss every day? What happens if you don't? YUCK! The bacteria between your teeth don't get disrupted so they keep multiplying and are harder to get off! Yuck, now do you want nasty bacteria breeding between your teeth, I didn't think so...
Now for how to floss properly!!
It really cleans that bacteria out!
Now you need a whole 18 inches of floss, (Ultrafloss is marked in 18" sections, very helpful!) Wrap the ends around your middle and ring fingers until only about an inch or so is left between yout two hands.
NOW gently (with a back and forth motion) slide it in between two teeth,
wrap it around one tooth and scrub,
Do the same with each tooth, remember front and back of each! This takes awhile at first too, but don't worry, you will get better. No time to do this? Excuses! Do it while watching TV!
Want to see a real difference?
Buy or ask you hygienist for some disclosing solution! This stains the plaque on your teeth red, when you brush and floss the red is removed, along with the yucky plaque bacteria! It is best to brush before using the solution because then you can see where you missed and see real results! Pretty cool eh?
