Today, we’re gonna be talking about the five products that you can use at home in between dental appointments to enhance your dental healthcare.
Hi, I’m Dr. Brett Langton. I’m a Protist. I’m the owner here at Dental Implant and Aesthetic Specialist in Brookhaven, Georgia. I would like to clarify for legal purposes, I’m not sponsored by any company. This is all just advice from me to you, whatever brand you want to use, as long as it falls within these kind of guidelines, it’s totally fine with me. I don’t receive any payment or compensation for any of the products listed.
#1: Electric Toothbrush
The number one most important thing is an electric toothbrush. What I like to tell my patients is we don’t use a horse and buggy to travel across the country anymore. So why would you use a manual toothbrush?
The leaps and bounds in technology of the sonic vibrations, the oscillations per minute, the vibrations that it makes can reach deep into the pockets, and it’s just, it’s night and day and electric toothbrush, and like I said, the brand Oral-B Sonicare, they’re all great.
They all have pros and cons. There’s lots of other companies out there that make great electric toothbrushes, but the point is the amount of stimulation of the gum tissue, the depth that they reach into the sulcus the cleaning, the removal of debris, it really is. That’s the number one recommendation I can give patients is the an electric toothbrush.
#2: Interproximal Rinsing Device (Water Pick)
The number two item is a, is an interproximal rinsing device, which is a long, fancy word for something like a water pick. Basically, what that means it’s an instrument that applies a heavy-pressure water spray in between the teeth and around the gums and the gum tissue to really flush out debris and areas that you can’t quite get to with your toothbrush or that flossing doesn’t allow you to manually reach. The one caveat I would have is that water picks create a lot of water and a lot of spray, so you have to use ’em over the sink, but they do a really good job of supplementing the electric toothbrush and making sure you remove any debris and bacteria to get that mouth nice and healthy.
#3: Mouth Rinse
So the third factor is a mouth rinse. Now, I know this is kind of a hot topic as to whether you should have one with alcohol, one with fluoride, one with different materials, and every, every company has their brand new, latest, greatest. But for me, the most important thing is something that you will use on a regular basis.
So whether that’s the alcohol free or whether it has some alcohol in it there, the nice thing is if you go down the supermarket aisle, you’ll see a wide variety of options, whether it’s, you know, fresh mint, orange water, I mean there’s so many flavors and styles and, and components to different brands. You can always find one that fits your personal preference. So I highly recommend that. And the big advantage of that is the mechanical swishing of the mouth.
Rinsing not only removes debris, but also if the mouth rinse has components of fluoride or other particles that are good for the teeth, it’ll help kind of bathe the teeth in those solutions.
#4: Floss or Soft Picks
The number four that I would recommend is some kind of interproximal manual appliance, whether that’s a floss or a soft pick. So floss is great when you’ve got good solid contacts because it can go down between those teeth and really clean out the debris in areas that the toothbrush doesn’t quite get to. But sometimes we have patients that have teeth that don’t have nice contacts, whether they’re crossed over or bigger gaps, or if you have a bridge that’s got a lot of space under there or a hybrid or some kind of other appliance that’s hard to clean. Or if you don’t have the manual dexterity to take floss and get to those areas, something like a soft pick or a go-between is, is a really valuable instrument in removing debris because the number one cause of decay in cavities is when you leave bacteria and food pushed up against the tooth structure.
So for those hard to reach places, those little nooks and crannies that you can’t quite get to something like floss or a soft pick or a go-between is, is ideal.
#5: Toothpaste
The fifth item is toothpaste. With toothpaste, there are so many different options, so many different flavors and styles to choose from, really pick one that you’re gonna use. But I do have a couple of warnings. Number one is you wanna make sure it has fluoride in it. And again, I know that’s kind of a hot topic, but fluoride is absolutely crucial for your tooth to protect itself and protect that outer enamel layer from the damage and wear, and tear on a daily basis. You wanna avoid anything that’s labeled as super bleaching or is very abrasive. Unfortunately, some of these companies that come out with these toothpaste that are advertised as mega bleaching or you know, make your T 50 shades wider, the way that they do that is they have really large particles and those particles will abbra that enamel structure, which short term is fine because they actually do remove some of that stain and some of that wear and tear.
But the problem is they leave scratches and indentations on the enamel surface, and then those scratches are just gonna pick up more stain and make the problem even worse. So you may have a short term gain with that kind of toothpaste, but in the long term, you’re really damaging your teeth and setting yourself up for future dental needs.
Bonus Tip: Use a Tongue Scraper
For an added bonus, I would add in a tongue scraper. Now, while it’s not absolutely necessary for your tooth health, a lot of bacteria and a lot of the bad taste and smell that you get in your mouth is harbored in the deep grooves on the back of your tongue. So a tongue scrapper is gonna do a really good job of freshening your breath, but removing a lot of that bacteria that might not have gotten taken care of with some of the other appliances that you use.
The Essentials for a Healthier Mouth
So to summarize, when you go down that drugstore aisle and there are so many options, so many different things, it can be very overwhelming. But what I want you to remember is electric toothbrush, a water pick or some kind of water pressurized system to go between the teeth floss or something to manually stimulate the gum tissue and go between the teeth and clean toothpaste, something with fluoride in it, something that’s not super abrasive and is gonna really rub the particles wrong and mouth rin something that you use. That is FDA approved, and you can flush out the particles and give yourself fresh breath by sticking to these five dental tools between dental visits, you can reduce and eliminate a lot of dental problems that will come up later.
Final Words
So if you’ve got a question about any of those, leave a comment below, or reach out to us. I would love to talk to you about it. I’m Dr. Brett Langston, and I’m here to help you watch your mouth.
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