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By the time we’re adults, most of us probably think we’ve got brushing our teeth figured out. We’ve been doing it everyday for most of our lives, after all. However, there is one part of the process that many people get wrong: they rinse their mouths after brushing!
After brushing your teeth, you should be spitting out the toothpaste, not rinsing then spitting. If the fact that you’re not supposed to rinse your mouth after brushing comes as a big shock, don’t feel bad. This is a very understandable misconception. From what we can tell, patients think of toothpaste like soap: something that aids in the removal of debris then gets washed away. But toothpaste isn’t like that for one very important cavity-preventing reason: fluoride.
Fluoride in an ingredient in toothpaste that prevents tooth decay by re-mineralizing and strengthening teeth. However, the less time the fluoride is on your teeth, the less time it has to prevent tooth decay. By rinsing with water you are limiting fluoride’s active time on your mouth to the amount of time you’ve been brushing. And given that most people don’t even brush for the full two minutes that the dentist recommends, that is not nearly enough time!
Upon hearing this prohibition of rinsing, one of the biggest questions we hear about is the dangers of swallowing toothpaste. While you should never swallow significant amounts of toothpaste, ingesting a tiny bit mixed with saliva after brushing your teeth is unlikely to do you harm (especially when compared to the risks of gum disease and tooth decay). But if you’re still very worried about it, you can rinse a little using this method: sip about a teaspoon (5 mL) of water and swish it in your mouth with the toothpaste to create a toothpaste slurry, then spit.
If the thought of having chemicals other than fluoride lingering in your mouth bothers you, you can try finding an all-natural fluoride toothpaste that has fewer ingredients. If it’s the lingering minty flavor that bothers you, there are toothpaste flavors other than mint out there, including bubblegum, watermelon and cinnamon. Just be sure they still have fluoride.
As an added bonus, not rinsing can also be better for the environment. Many of us unconsciously leave the water in the sink running as we brush our teeth, in anticipation of rinsing our mouths and the brush out at the end, wasting about 3 gallons (12 liters) of water each time. People who rinse their mouths are much more likely to waste water than those who don’t, so once you stop rinsing, you’ll probably stop wasting too!
We know that for most of our patients, their favorite part of a dental cleaning is how smooth and clean their teeth feel afterward, not to mention how shiny they are. Tooth polishing has long been part of the dental checkup routine ever since the 1700s when Pierre Fauchard, the father of modern dentistry, recommended it. However, if you’ve had your teeth cleaned recently (and you have, right?) you may have noticed that your dentist or hygienist didn’t polish every single tooth. That’s because the results of recent studies are changing how dentists and dental hygienists approach polishing.
First, let’s do a quick review of what happens during a dental cleaning appointment. The whole point of a dental cleaning is to remove plaque and tartar that has accumulated on your teeth. If not removed, this bacteria-laden debris can lead to cavities and gum disease. The hygienist will go after the most stubborn buildup with an ultrasonic tool, which uses the power of fine vibrations to break up tartar and water to flush it away. Next, the hygienist may use hand tools to remove any smaller spots of buildup and to smooth out the tooth surface.
After your teeth have been thoroughly cleaned and all the plaque and tartar removed, then it’s time for polishing. Most polishing is done with a tiny rubber cup that spins on the end of a hand-held wand. Before polishing your teeth, the hygienist scoops up some prophy paste onto the rubber cup. Prophy paste is like an extra-gritty version of toothpaste, which often comes in similar flavors. The hygienist then applies the prophy paste to your teeth, and the spinning of the cup polishes your teeth and removes stains. After rinsing your mouth, the hygienist may floss your teeth, then apply a fluoride treatment, which helps teeth absorb minerals that make them stronger.
In fact, removing surface stains is the primary purpose of tooth polishing these days. In the past, it was thought that polishing teeth to make them smoother made it harder for the bacteria-laden gunk that leads to gum disease and tooth decay to attach to teeth. It turns out that removing plaque and tartar during the ultrasonic scaling part of your hygiene visit is really what helps keep bacteria from adhering (plus your daily home oral hygiene routine, of course). While polishing certainly smooths out your teeth, it hasn’t been shown to make a huge difference in preventing gum disease or tooth decay. In fact, some studies have shown that polishing can even temporarily weaken your tooth enamel, making your teeth slightly more vulnerable until the outer layer of enamel grows back.
Many dental professionals now consider polishing to be primarily a cosmetic procedure. That’s why some dentists and hygienists only do selective polishing, in which they only choose certain teeth to polish, such as those with superficial stains that didn’t get removed by the ultrasonic cleaning or hand tools. So while polishing is certainly nice to get that perfectly smooth feeling after your appointment, don’t be alarmed if your hygienist doesn’t polish all of your teeth. Polishing is not as important to preventing oral problems as the ultrasonic cleaning and manual removal of plaque and tartar and tooth-strengthening fluoride treatments.
If you have any questions about the dental cleaning process, always feel free to ask us! We look forward to seeing you at your next appointment.
These days people are being more and more conscious of what’s in the food they eat and the products they buy. But do you know what your toothpaste is made of? The answer is there are many different compounds that make up toothpaste. Modern toothpaste is truly a marvel of modern science that can remove stains and prevent tooth decay.
The official name for toothpaste is dentrifice, which means any substance intended to remove debris from teeth in order to prevent tooth decay. Dentrifice used to include both tooth powders and toothpastes, until the invention of the toothpaste tube made pre-mixed pastes much more popular because they were more convenient. Dentrifice is still the French word for toothpaste, though it hasn’t been used in English since around the turn of the 20th century.
All toothpastes have at least two key components: abrasives and surfactants. Abrasives are rough materials that aid the toothbrush in scrubbing debris such as plaque, tartar and food particles from teeth. Perhaps the most well-known toothpaste abrasive is sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda. Other abrasives include aluminum hydroxide, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, and silicas.
Abrasives also polish teeth so they’re shiny and smooth, but using them too roughly can actually damage teeth by stripping away enamel, which makes teeth more vulnerable to tooth decay. That’s why it’s better to use a soft-bristled toothbrush than a hard bristle one, and to brush thoroughly, not hard.
Surfactants are compounds that help toothpaste get nice and foamy. This lathering effect has a real purpose: it helps evenly distribute the abrasives and other components, such as fluoride. While your dentist and the American Dental Association recommends toothpastes with fluoride for most people, there are fluoride free varities for those with a fluoride sensitivity. Fluoride is a natural mineral that helps prevent tooth decay and can even remineralize degraded tooth enamel.
Other inactive ingredients found in toothpaste include water (which can account for nearly 40% of what’s in the tube) and chemicals to keep the paste from drying out, such as propylene glycol and glycerol. Some pastes also include anti-bacterial agents that can help eliminate the bacteria that cause gum disease. Specialized toothpastes, such as whitening or anti-sensitivity, may contain other compounds that contribute to their particular purpose.
If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed by the choices in the toothpaste aisle, feel free to talk to our dental care team about which toothpaste is right for you.
There is more than one type of dental procedure that may be casually referred to as a cleaning. For example, there is a regular cleaning & then there is what is referred to a deep cleaning. It’s important to understand that there is a big difference between these procedures & implications that each of these procedures have when it comes to your oral health.
A regular teeth cleaning, which is called prophylaxis by dental professionals, is what most people think of when they think of going to the dentist for a checkup. Prophylaxis involves removing plaque, calculus & stains from teeth. (Plaque is a sticky substance that builds up on teeth as a byproduct of bacteria feasting on the food you eat. Calculus, also known as tartar, occurs when plaque & minerals in your mouth harden.) A dental hygienist or a dentist uses a specialized cleaning device, called an ultrasonic scaler, to remove plaque & calculus. This cleaning occurs only on the visible part of the tooth, known as a the crown.
Regular teeth cleaning is only recommended for patients who have generally good oral health & do not suffer from bone loss or gum problems (bleeding, recession, infection, etc.)
Root planing is a procedure that involves removing tartar, bacteria, toxic deposits from the root of a tooth, all the way down to where gum & bone meet. While it is sometimes casually referred to as a “deep cleaning”, you should know that this treatment is quite different from prophylaxis. This procedure is required as a treatment for periodontal disease or periodontitis (commonly called gum disease, though it also affects the bone).
Many people can have periodontal disease & not even know it. Symptoms of the disease include bleeding gums, bad breath, teeth that look longer due to recessed gums, & swollen or red gums. However, many people do not notice any symptoms at all. That’s why it may come as a surprise when your dentist recommends scaling & root planing instead of a regular cleaning. It’s important to understand that this procedure is vital to getting periodontal disease under control & avoid future tooth loss, though other procedures including surgery may be required to treat the disease.
Once you have been diagnosed with periodontal disease & have undergone scaling & root planing, periodontal maintenance is what you can think of as taking the place of prophylaxis in your dental care routine. Rather than just addressing the just crowns of your teeth as in prophylaxis, periodontal maintenance also cares for your tooth roots, gums & bone. In other words, think of it as cleaning & maintenance for the tissues affected by your periodontal disease. The frequency of your periodontal maintenance appointments depends on your individual oral health condition & will be determined by your dentist.
Over time, plaque (a thick, bacteria-filled film) and tartar (a hard calcium-based build-up) can build up on your teeth & eventually lead to tooth decay. While regular brushing & flossing at home can help prevent this buildup, it can’t necessarily remove it. That’s why going to your dentist for a professional cleaning is so important.
Even if you have impeccable home oral hygiene habits (you floss & brush for at least two minutes twice daily, or even after every meal), there is still work for your dental hygienist to do at your teeth cleaning appointment to help prevent tooth decay. The cleaning you get at the dentist is a more thorough cleaning that you can get at home, even if you’re a brushing & flossing superstar.
If left on your teeth, icky buildups of plaque & tartar create an ideal habitat for bacteria to thrive. Allowing bacteria to stay on your teeth & near your gums can lead to both tooth decay & gum disease, both of which can cause you to lose your teeth (not to mention the pain & expenses). Bacteria have a harder time sticking to smooth, clean teeth than rough or fuzzy-feeling teeth with plaque & tartar on them.
Plus, having a professional teeth cleaning at the dentist means that you have a head start on keeping your teeth clean. Rather than battling potentially years of buildup (if you haven’t been to the dentist in a while), getting your teeth cleaned regularly means your get a clean start every six months & it will be that much easier to get a smooth, shiny smile at home between dental visits.
Best of all, cleanings can save you money in the long run. Most insured patients don’t pay anything out of pocket for their cleanings, so it’s essentially free. Plus, if you catch problems early or have the opportunity to prevent them you could eliminate the need for more expensive procedures to restore damage from tooth decay or gum disease in the future.
Bad breath can be a notoriously sneaky and therefore embarrassing issue. You might not even know you have bad breath until your loved ones are ducking away when you go in for a kiss! Here a few tips on how to prevent bad breath, so you can go out into the world with the confidence that comes from fresh breath.
It seems like the more delicious and flavorful the cuisine, the stinkier it makes your breath! Garlic and onions are some of the worst, but there are other culprits too, such as coffee. Unfortunately, brushing your teeth is often not enough to get rid of these odors. The stinky compounds in these foods are absorbed into your bloodstream, causing your to exhale odor from your lungs, not just your mouth. The only way to get rid of garlic breath is to avoid eating garlic.
Everyone knows you should brush your teeth. Most people know that brushing your teeth also includes brushing your gumline. Not everyone knows that you should be brushing your tongue too. The tongue’s bumpy surface is a great place for odor-causing bacteria to hide, so adding brushing your tongue (or scraping it with a tongue scraper) is a great way to improve both your breath. That same bacteria, if left on your tongue, can get back on your clean teeth and potentially cause tooth decay.
The saliva in your mouth is one of your body’s best self-cleaning mechanisms. Saliva helps wash away bacteria and debris in your mouth that could cause tooth decay if allowed to stick around. That same bacteria can also cause bad breath. By keeping your mouth moist, you can prevent decay and keep your breath fresh. The best way to do this is by staying hydrated by drinking lots of water. However, sometimes dry mouth is chronic and can be a side-effect of certain medications. If you find that you have dry mouth despite staying hydrated, you may want to talk to your doctor about your medications and see if there is a way to switch to one that doesn’t have this side effect. You can also talk to the dentist about over-the-counter and prescription solutions for dry mouth, such as special rinses.
We know it can be difficult to get in the habit of flossing regularly. After all, your mouth can feel pretty fresh after just brushing, enough to fool you into thinking it’s totally clean and safe from tooth decay or gum disease. But flossing regularly is the only way to make sure you actually clean your teeth completely. Here are a few misconceptions we want to dispel to help motivate your flossing habits!
We know there are some people out there who only whip out the floss after eating popcorn or corn on the cob. Of course floss is great for removing the remnants of rogue kernels, but it’s not just large obvious bits of food you have to worry about. Floss also helps remove plaque that accumulates between your teeth, creating the risk for cavities even if you don’t have food stuck there. If you floss regularly, you already know how surprising it is the amount of stuff you can clean out from between your teeth even if you didn’t sink them into anything particularly messy that day.
There are plenty of adults who have yet to make a solid habit of flossing. In many cases, these adults still have all their teeth and haven’t had any problems with interproximal caries (tooth decay that happens between your teeth). But just because someone has gotten this far without feeling the need to floss doesn’t mean they shouldn’t start! For one thing, the early signs of dental disease such as gum disease (periodontitis) don’t have obvious symptoms. Bleeding gums is one of the first signs you may be developing gum disease, but even if you teeth don’t bleed when you brush that doesn’t mean you’re not at risk. Start flossing now and you still may have all your own teeth for the rest of your life!
This is a choice of words problem: Many people hear that your gums bleeding when you floss is common, and misunderstand that fact to mean that it’s normal. Yes, many people see blood when they floss, but no, it’s not normal. No matter what, that spot of red is telling you something about your oral health, specifically the health of your gums. If this is a problem you encounter every time you floss, talk to us about it so we can assess the issue and have a plan for preserving your health.
