How to maintain good oral hygiene?
How to maintain good oral hygiene?
Developing good oral hygiene habits
1.Rinse your mouth with warm water (around 36 ℃) after meals and use dental floss.
After eating, it is easy to produce acid in the mouth, which can soften the hard tissue on the outer layer of the teeth, known as demineralization in academia. Therefore, it is
recommended not to brush your teeth immediately after eating and drinking acidic drinks. It is best to wait for the demineralized
tooth tissue to remineralize for 1 hour before brushing. If it’s really inconvenient, you can chew gum containing xylitol.
It does not produce acidic substances that can cause caries – worm teeth – and can reduce dental plaque and tartar; If there is food
impaction between the teeth, floss should be used in a timely manner – a hard toothpick can easily damage the periodontium –
remove it, otherwise it will irritate the periodontium for a long time and may lead to the growth of worm teeth for good oral hygiene?.
2.Brushing teeth in the morning and evening is more important than brushing before bedtime.
After brushing your teeth, do not eat anything other than water. If you have periodontitis and exposed roots, you need to use a interdental brush.
For babies who have just been born to 6 months old and have not yet developed teeth, mothers should wrap their index finger in
clean gauze (or use a cotton swab) after each feeding, and gently wipe the food residue on their tongue and gums with warm water;
For children aged 6 months to 1 and a half, baby teeth begin to erupt, and after each meal, the surface of the teeth should be cleaned
of dirt.
As the child grows older, parents can first brush their teeth (children’s toothpaste can be used when they are over 2 years old and can
rinse their mouth), taking advantage of the child’s tendency to imitate and gradually mastering the correct brushing method.
3.The correct brushing method is to place the bristles (bristles should be tough, soft, and fine, with appropriate brush head size,
generally covering 2-3 tooth surfaces) at the junction of the teeth and gums, with the bristles at a 45 degree angle to the surface of the
teeth, and brush vertically along the gaps between the teeth. Avoid excessive force when brushing teeth to avoid excessive wear and
irritation of teeth and periodontium (causing gum recession).
After gum recession, the exposed dental bone is thin and prone to wear, which can lead to faster and more extensive exposure of the
inner layer of dentin. When brushing upper teeth, brush from top to bottom; When brushing teeth, brush from bottom to top; When
brushing chewy noodles, brush back and forth.
Brush inside and outside, five or six times in each area, and brush your teeth for no less than 3 minutes each time. As long as the
electric toothbrush is correctly placed on the surface of the teeth, the brushing time can be shortened.
Regular oral examinations
1.Pay attention to self-examination of oral cavity at ordinary times.
Generally, children aged 0-5 years should be examined every 2-3 months, and children and adults aged over 6 years should be examined every 0.5-1 years (diabetes patients, every 3-4 months) to find
dental caries and other oral diseases at an early stage. Due to the rapid development of dental caries in children, parents should
regularly check their children’s teeth, detect the situation, and seek medical attention in a timely manner.
2.Wash teeth 1-2 times a year.
A portion of the interdental space is beyond the reach of brushing teeth. Bacteria and small residues of
food accumulate on the tooth surface and gradually mineralize layer by layer (experimental evidence shows that plaque can calcifie
within 24 hours, which is the theoretical basis for brushing teeth at least twice a day), ultimately forming tartar (which cannot be
brushed off by brushing teeth).
Plaque and tartar first cause gingivitis, and then the lesion spreads to the entire periodontal tissue, causing alveolar bone damage,
gum recession, root exposure, and leading to periodontal disease. Toothwashing not only removes some dirt from the tooth surface
without damaging the teeth, but also has the benefits of preventing dental caries, eliminating bad breath, and other oral diseases.
3.The method of self-examination is to face a mirror under good lighting conditions and open your mouth to check the bite surface of your teeth.
The normal tooth surface is clean white or light yellow, and glossy. If the tooth surface is chalky and lacks luster, it may be
an early manifestation of dental caries.
In addition, attention should also be paid to the intangible and qualitative changes in teeth. It’s better for two people to check each other.
One person can use chopsticks to expose the cheek and lingual side of another person’s teeth, and then most of their teeth can be
seen for caries. If there is food impaction or teeth are sensitive to cold or hot stimulation, one should be alert to the possibility of
cavities and promptly check.