TOOTH BRUSHING TECHNIQUE
The toothbrush must never be wetted as you start to brush your teeth. Pea-sized toothpaste is applied to the dry brush. The brush is placed at an angle of 450 to the tooth-gum joint line. Small circular motions are made so that the bristles of the brush remain at the same point. This movement is applied 10 times on each tooth surface, and then the turn comes to sweeping movements. Bristles of brushes are placed on the edge of the gingival margin at an angle of 450 and sweeping movements from the gingiva to the cutting edge of the tooth are performed. This movement is unidirectional. The toothbrush should never be directed from tooth to gingiva.
In clinical examinations, it was found that most people brushed only the visible surfaces. The tooth brushing technique should be applied to all surfaces facing the mouth. The tooth brushing time should not be less than 3-4 minutes at a time. At least once a day, floss should be used after tooth brushing.
IDEAL TOOTHBRUSH
In an ideal toothbrush, it is preferred that the ends of the bristles being rounded nylon and having a medium-hard structure. At least three rows of bristles should be found. Small-headed brushes are more successful in cleaning details. The toothbrush should be replaced if the parallelism of the bristles are corrupted as the toothbrush is used. The dryness of the toothbrush is important in increasing the cleaning properties. Therefore, if possible, two brushes must be obtained, each time a brush with a dry brush.
IDEAL TOOTHPASTE
A wide variety of toothpaste is sold in the markets. The content of toothpaste has recently been enriched with fluoride. The size of particles in toothpaste is a very important detail. Teeth with coarse particles, especially those with high whitening properties, can cause invisible deep lines on the teeth. Therefore, it is useful to stay away from toothpaste with a whitening formula. Choice of toothpaste can be made according to mouth complaints. However, the most simple and tiny particulate toothpaste you will prefer will be sufficient if you brush your teeth very regularly. In effective tooth brushing, toothpaste should only be considered a disinfectant. What is important is detailed and accurate mechanical cleaning. At least once a day, floss should be used after tooth brushing.
DENTAL FLOSSING TECHNIQUE
Only 60% of the tooth surfaces are cleaned with only tooth brushing. The toothbrush cannot penetrate particularly the interface and the microorganisms remain in these regions. Since dental caries and gum diseases are formed especially from these areas, dental floss should be used every day.
Approximately fifty centimeters of dental floss is cut off. From its ends, it is wrapped around the middle finger of one hand. It is enough to wrap 1-2 times on the middle finger of the other hand. The rope is stretched between the middle fingers of both hands, at approximately ten centimeters long. With the help of the thumbs, a section of approximately 1.5 cm is carefully stretched and placed between the upper teeth. After the rope is gently inserted into the gum pocket from the edge of the gum, it is placed on the front and back of the tooth and pulled slowly downwards by rubbing it to the tooth. It is re-entered in the same place and this time is placed on the other tooth side and the process is repeated from the other tooth’s gum pocket to the cutting edge.
The index fingers are used to place the rope between the lower teeth. Again, 1.5 cm tension is obtained and the floss is placed between the teeth. After being placed in the gum pocket, floss is placed on the tooth from the front and back and removed in the direction of the cutting edge after rubbing the floss slowly to the tooth. The process is repeated again for the neighboring tooth from the gum pocket to the cutting edge of the tooth.
Dental floss should be applied by entering between the teeth two times.
ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH
These are round-shaped brushes with a diameter of about 1 cm. Advanced electric toothbrushes have two types of motion. They rotate and make pressure movements with small vibrations. The brushing technique with manual brushes is not applicable to these brushes. It is enough to hold the rechargeable toothbrushes at an angle of 450 on the surface of each tooth (all surfaces) 10 seconds by placing the brush on the edge of the gum. Rather, these are the brushes recommended children and those who are not prone to tooth brushing. It can be used by more than one person since the heads can be changed.