Zen and the Art of Tooth Maintenance
Actually, the oldest and most common personal hygiene practice is the cleaning of the teeth. It comes in just ahead of bathing. There are prehistoric relics of brushes made out of shredded bamboo and pig bristles (sounds like a Chinese entrée).
But in spite of all that attention to tooth maintenance and our space-age technology, the incidence of decay and gum disease is still astronomically higher than it was in the dark ages, thanks to a corresponding increase in man’s ability to refine sugars. In this enlightened age we now have high fructose corn syrup. I don’t know why, because it doesn’t do anything for the flavor. It must be addictive or something, but I do know that it is highly destructive to the teeth, not to mention the blood sugar, just in case you don’t want to develop diabetes. You should avoid it as much as you can.
So here are seven tooth care tips to help you combat the modern diet:
1. Brush longer than you think you need to. When people try to estimate the recommended three minutes, they fall way short. Watch a clock or use an egg timer that your dentist can provide.
2. Work systematically. People often neglect the back teeth or the inside surfaces, or brush one side more than the other. Whatever system you use, try to cover every side of every tooth equally.
3. Use a brush with soft bristles of varying heights. The tendency is to think that hard bristles would clean better, but it’s just the opposite, and hard bristles can damage the enamel and gums.
4. Change your brush at least every three months, because the bristles will fray and bacteria will build up on them.
5. Manual brushes are just fine. Research indicates that sonic brushes are no better, but rotary brushes may be better depending on the type of bristles. The best of those is the Rotadent, which we get at wholesale as a service to our patients. The elderly may benefit the most from them because of dexterity issues.
6. Don’t knock success. Once my Uncle Jerry was leading a golf tournament, so before the final round he took a lesson from his golf instructor. Needless to say, he played miserably the next day and lost the tournament. If you’re not getting cavities and your gums are nice and healthy, then just keep doing what you’re doing.
7. Don’t forget to floss! This is EQUALLY as important as brushing, yet it is the most neglected part of tooth care. Did you know that people that floss live TEN years longer than people that don’t? That’s because eliminating bacterial plaque improves your overall health. If you have trouble wrapping the floss around your fingers, then see your dentist for instructions, or try those disposable floss holders like Eez-Thru by Butler GUM (which we carry). They are not quite as effective as the manual method, but they are better than nothing. As Nike says, “Just do it”.
Dr. Moulton’s article was published in the Desert Valley Times, July 2008
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 10:11 am and is filed under Dentistry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.