Dental hygiene

Dental hygiene

Dental hygiene is a very important part of preventive dentistry, which has recently been experiencing a boom. It includes training of home dental care and makes the customer familiar with aids intended for proper cleaning of teeth. A dental hygienist trains the customer and completely removes tartar and plaque from his/her oral cavity. A physician supervises her work. After you undergo the training, you may buy the recommended aids (interdental brushes, dental floss, etc.) directly at our dental care center.

Proper cleaning is the prerequisite of healthy teeth

Visits to the dentist are not the most pleasant affairs for the most of us, especially when it is necessary to drill or, even worse, extract teeth. Most problems can be avoided by proper technique and aids used when cleaning the teeth.

Many patients may hear about dental hygienists for the first time. In the past, their activities were more or less performed by the dentists themselves. Today, however, with increasing specialization in all areas of human life, dental care has developed into a self-standing field. Dental hygienist – a woman (the number of men in this post is negligible) - deals not only with dental hygiene in general. Her main job is to check the condition of patient's teeth and recommend the most appropriate method of cleaning but, certainly, she also takes care of removing plaque and of other operations, thus saving time to the dentist. This enables the dentist to concentrate on more serious interventions.

Cleaning technique

The most common toothbrushing mistake is a bad technique. Strokes with the toothbrush that are only horizontal are totally insufficient, as the most problematic spaces, such as necks or interdental spaces, are not reached. The best technique is to put the brush on the tooth and clean with gentle circular motions, the motions should be similar to those performed when using an electrical toothbrush. By this method all teeth on both sides should gradually be cleaned. Of course, one should not apply too much pressure to the brush to avoid unnecessary gum irritation and/or damage. An alternative method is to wipe the plaque off using vertical brush strokes leading from the root to the crown.

Toothbrushes and dental floss

In addition to the cleaning method, the choice of suitable brushes is just as important. Today's market offers a variety of types and so people often do not know what to choose. The very best option is an ordinary soft flat-trim toothbrush; at the same time it is necessary to say that the harder the toothbrush the worse the choice, as a hard brush causes excessive damage to the gums and thus brings about accelerated retraction of the gum line and also abrades the enamel in the cervical areas of teeth. Standard brush, however, does not reach all the spaces. The most risky ones are the interdental spaces, interdental brushes and dental floss or tape serve to clean those. The size of the interdental space and the size of interdental brush should at best be assessed by the dental hygienist. All the interdental spaces should be brushed. For quite tight interdental spaces, dental floss or tape is used. As regards larger spaces between teeth, the combination of floss and an interdental brush is an ideal combination, because a dental floss does not offer such a large cleaning surface.

Toothpaste and mouthwash are only cosmetics products

Advertisements flood us with information on the importance and necessity of toothpaste and mouthwash. But the truth is somewhat different. Toothpaste is only important because it contains fluoride. Fluoride delivery is its important role. It also makes teeth cleaning easier and more enjoyable. Otherwise, it is merely a matter of sensations. The same goes for mouthwash. Neither toothpaste nor mouthwash alone may prevent tooth decay. Decay may be prevented only by perfect and proper cleaning of teeth. To provide recommendations on how and with what the teeth are cleaned best represents one of the main roles of a dental hygienists.

Regularity is the most important factor

We should clean our teeth at least twice a day (after breakfast and before bedtime). It is, however, recommended to clean one’s teeth after every meal. It is not necessary to clean the interdental spaces every time but it should be self-understood to do that before bedtime. In addition to cleaning teeth, professional care is equally important. We should visit dental office preferably every six months. Regular examinations by a dentist or hygienist may help to detect problems in their very beginning before they develop into a really serious problem.