Proper Oral Care - Oral Hygiene Instruction

Good Oral Care

If you want your teeth to last you for your whole life, you need to maintain good oral hygiene.  The amount of bacteria currently living in your mouth can be reduced with a good dental routine. Bad habits when it comes to keeping your mouth in tip-top shape can lead to cavities, bad breath, bleeding gums, and more severe issues like heart disease, infected lungs, cancer, and lower birth weight in the children of women with poor oral hygiene. Diligence is even more important in those with compromised immune systems, as the bacteria will spread through the body unhindered.

Dentists are your best source of information on keeping your mouth healthy. While explaining how plaque eventually leads to cavities, they will show you a magnified version of your own mouth to make you better aware of the current state of your oral health. They may scrape some of the plaque from your teeth so that you understand its properties and appearance. They will also show you x-rays of your teeth. In x-rays, hard tissue like tooth enamel and bone shows up white, whereas softer tissues appear much darker. If there are soft spots in your enamel, they will be visible on the x-ray.

The dentist should also have you rinse with a solution or chew a tablet containing dye that sticks only to plaque. After you perform your general dental care, using the solution or tablet will reveal where your regular routine is lacking and leaving plaque behind. You can then attempt to perform your dental hygiene routine again for the dentist, so that your basic maintenance can be assessed for effectiveness; the dentist will note if you are still having problems removing the plaque from your teeth and give you encouragement.

Good Oral Care

With a mirror so that you can see, the dentist will then demonstrate a brushing technique suited for your age. Children will be shown while a parent is there. Children may use the roll technique or a back-and-forth motion; adolescents, teenagers and adults should use the Modified Stillman technique. The dentist will then supervise you as you practice the new method you’ve been taught while holding the mirror for you. You’ll be able to see how much more effective the new technique is versus your previous attempts to remove all the plaque.

Brushing may be important, but its effectiveness lacks when it comes to the area between the teeth, the main area where debris and plaque are trapped. The best method to remove this plaque is to floss. Flossing may seem tedious, but it’s essential to preventing cavities between your teeth and gum disease. As there is a wide variety of flossing equipment, you should pick one that suits your tastes and that is most convenient or effective for you, as you probably won’t stick with a regime you find dissatisfying. Once you’ve established a routine you can keep, stick with it to maintain those pearly whites. The dentist will remind you that your new routine must include proper brushing twice a day and flossing at least once. Together with routine visits to the dentist, your teeth should last you a full lifetime.