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How To Keep My Toothbrush Clean? And other dental questions.

cavity free mouth and, all the great tools available to help you do so. Fotolia_5327278_XS-resized-600 Next comes the last part, maintenance of your repertoire of home care tools. So if you’ve ever wondered ‘How to keep my toothbrush clean?’ then read on..

Your toothbrush is the most important tool in your home care regimen so keeping it clean and up to date is very important. Here are the basics:

1. Whether using an electric toothbrush or a manual toothbrush it should be replaced every 3 months. The easiest way is to change your brush or electric toothbrush head with the change of the seasons or if the bristles begin to look splayed or frayed. 2. While brushing your teeth your brush is cleaning all the debris, plaque and bacteria that you’ve accumulated over the day. After brushing you should sanitize your toothbrush, we recommend rinsing it with Listerine then rinsing with water and letting air dry. 3. And lastly, When storing your toothbrush you want to store it head up allowing it to air dry in an area away from an open toilet. If you can store it in a medicine cabinet or something similar that is best.

Many of our patients own and use appliances at home whether they be retainers, Invisalign aligners, nightguards or sleep apnea oral appliances, these appliances need special care to maintain them and keep them clean.

1. In the morning upon removal of the appliance you should use a wet toothbrush to gently clean off the appliance, stay away from abrasive toothpastes when cleaning any appliance made of acrylic or soft rubbery material as the toothpaste may cause it to become porous and more susceptible to bacteria buildup. 2. Many of your appliances can be soaked in a chlorhexidine mouth rinse or Listerine for a period of time to help reduce bacteria build up as well. Please check with your dentist before you do so as some of these rinses may stain certain materials 3. Also, for clear retainers and Invisalign aligners, often over time the aligners may discolor due to normal wear. You can place your retainer or aligner in a small glass of water with a cap full of hydrogen peroxide, this will help clear up the stain on the aligner.]]>

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Toothpaste Ingredients: How to Decode the Label

brushingteethEver look on the back of the toothpaste box and wonder, what exactly is xanthan gum and why the heck is it in my toothpaste? Well wonder no more, as we go through how to decode the toothpaste label… On every drug facts label you find a listing of active ingredients and inactive ingredients, as well as what its used for, any warnings for the product and directions for uses. Active Ingredients: This is the part of the toothpaste that makes its use effective. In the case of most toothpastes the active ingredient is usually for anti-plaque, anti-cavity, anti-gingivitis as well as including ingredients to help prevent tooth sensitivity. So in this portion you will normally see your fluorides such as sodium fluoride, stannous fluoride or sodium monofluorophosphate. You may also see potassium nitrate, triclosan, pyrophosphates or zinc salts as well as a myriad of other ingredients. Inactive Ingredients: This portion includes the ingredients that make the toothpaste standup to being on the shelf as well as completing the nuts and bolts function of general toothpaste use. So these ingredients stop the paste from drying out, keep it at a good pH, stop microbial growth, make them thick enough for use and help them become foamy when used. They also include flavoring agents, abrasives and whitening agents. So in this section, which in my opinion is the most confusing you’ll see these types of ingredients:

  • Propylene glycol, glycerol, and polyethylene glycol to help keep toothpaste moist
  • Carageenan, cellulose and xanthan gum to thicken and hold all the ingredients together
  • Sodium benzoate and methyl paraben to keep toothpaste from decaying and to prevent microbial growth
  • Sodium lauryl sulphate and cocoadmidopropyl betaine to make toothpaste foam thereby helping loosening and removing plaque from the tooth surface.
  • sodium saccharin, xylitol, sorbitol, sodium cyclamate to flavor the toothpaste.
  • Buffering agents to make it a pH favorable for the oral environment.
  • And, you may see silicas, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate or aluminum oxide which are abrasives which help remove plaque and bacteria as well.
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Are You Brushing Your Teeth Correctly?

brushingteeth

  • If you’re using a manual brush, it should always be a soft bristle toothbrush. I wouldn’t recommend buying a hard bristle one unless you’re planning to use it to clean the grout on your bathroom tiles! Hard bristles are too harsh for teeth and not necessary to do an effective cleaning job.
  • The proper technique is to move the brush over the teeth in a circular motion.  Never use a front to back “sawing” motion.
  • A typical brushing routine should include brushing at least two to three times a day for two minutes, breaking up the time evenly amongst the different areas of the mouth.
  • If you’re using a manual toothbrush, we recommend switching to an electric one. They often have two-minute timers built in with a beep to remind you to switch to the next part of your mouth and give a nice uniform amount of pressure. Electric toothbrushes do most of the work and help you resist the urge to scrub too hard.
Concerned that you’re still brushing incorrectly? Be sure to ask your dentist for tips and a demonstration during your next dental visit.]]>

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