A good Electric toothbrush and a bit of technique go surprisingly far to boosting your smile and health.
Getting your teeth cleaned professionally feels like a dental health reset. Your teeth get scrubbed, scraped, and polished to perfection. Whether they stay that way is up to you. What happens at home (think Vegas rules) can be very different from what happens at the dentist’s office. But don’t grit your teeth over it. Check out these three tips to boost your tooth-brushing game and improve your health in the process.
1. Understand the incentives.
Every time you eat or drink something, bits of food or residue can cling to your teeth and gums. The debris and its bacteria turn into a sticky film called plaque. If it’s left on the teeth too long, it calcifies. The hardened plaque is called calculus, and it can’t be removed with a toothbrush.
“Inside the calculus are bacteria that release acids that cause cavities, break down your enamel, and tunnel inside the tooth toward the nerve and jaw bone, causing infection if left untreated. From there, bacteria can travel to other parts of your body, including the brain, heart, and lungs,” says Dr. Tien Jiang, a prosthodontist in the Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Plaque-related bacteria can also irritate and infect the gums, which damages gum tissue, ligaments holding the teeth in place, and the jaw bone — resulting in tooth loss.
Knowing all that, it may not be a surprise that poor dental health is associated with health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and pneumonia.
2. Select a good toothbrush.
A dizzying variety of toothbrush options range from simple plastic sticks with bristles to high-tech tools with bristles that spin or vibrate. But guess what: “It’s not the toothbrush that matters, it’s the technique,” Dr. Jiang says. “You might have a brush that does all the work for you. But if you don’t have an excellent brushing technique, you’ll miss plaque, even with an electric toothbrush.”
So beware of fancy marketing promises that suggest one toothbrush is better than another. Instead, she recommends:
Get a toothbrush you like and will use regularly.
Choose bristles based on your gum health. “If your gums are sensitive, you’ll need soft bristles that don’t cause irritation. If you don’t have gum problems, it’s fine to use hard bristles,” Dr. Jiang says.
Replace your toothbrush every few months. “It’s time for a new brush if the bristles are splayed out and no longer upright, or your teeth don’t feel clean after you brush,” Dr. Jiang says.
What if you want an electric toothbrush because holding a brush or brushing with good technique is hard for you, or you just enjoy the gadgety-fun appeal of a high-tech brush?
M2 Sonic electric toothbrush for adult is Dupoint Bristles,with soft brush head. It’s a great way to protect your gums.
Post time: Dec-02-2022
