Maintaining a Cavity Free Mouth

After years in the dental office, I can tell you that it’s very rare to find a patient who goes more than 3 years without a cavity. Knowing that home care is one of the most important aspects of maintaining a healthy mouth, my partners and I set out on creating a home care regimen that’s relatively easy and will provide the results we are hoping to achieve, a decrease in cavities and improvement in overall oral health. The final breakthrough of my home care routine recommendations came while reading Dr. Ellie Phillips book Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye. During our daily care routine, we are mainly focusing on removing and repairing the damage we’ve already done during the day. Removing plaque mostly and strengthening enamel. However, Dr. Ellie’s book brings up a great point, we aren’t focusing on improving the overall environment of the mouth, more specifically saliva makeup. Combining both rationales, ours which focuses on mechanics and repair, and Dr. Ellie’s which focuses on reducing the saliva’s acidity and creating a healthier environment in the mouth, we created Frangella Dental’s basic home care regimen:

Part 1: Prepare & Clean

This portion of your home care focuses on the mechanical aspect of cleaning your mouth.  The first step is to prepare the right oral environment.  You can do this by using an oral rinse that creates a less acidic pH in your mouth. The product we recommend is CloSYS. We also recommend investing in a good electric tooth brush. Our favorite is the Sonicare tooth brush.  Find floss that works best for you. I generally recommend unwaxed tape varieties of floss as opposed to the rope type. The brand I recommend the most is Glide.

Part 2: Sanitize & Disinfect

Directly after brushing and flossing your teeth, the next step is to rinse with an antibacterial rinse. Our favorite product on the market is Listerine. After brushing your teeth, be sure to sanitize your tooth brush, you can do this by rinsing your brush in Listerine, then rinsing with water and allowing to air dry. Also, always store your toothbrush away from open toilets as well.

Part 3: Strengthen & Repair

This portion of home care helps keep your enamel strong and healthy. At night, as the last step of your home care, you should rinse with a fluoride rinse. We recommend ACT Total Care fluoride rinse. After you have rinsed with the fluoride rinse, do not rinse with water. Also, throughout the day, to give added protection, you can chew xylitol gum or use other 100% xylitol products.  You want to aim for about 6-10 grams a day of xylitol to get the best anticavity effects of this sugar substitute. To see all of Frangella Dental’s recommeded home care products, click here.]]>