Oral Hygiene

Oral Hygiene Hampton

Brushing and flossing! You hear it every time you go to the dentist or hygienist. Have you ever thought about the technique, what type of toothbrush to use, soft, medium or hard head? Electric or manual toothbrush?

Not all toothbrushes are the same and knowing which one works for you is important. Our team is trained in supporting and helping you find which works best for you. Using a medium or hard head will cause damage to your gums and make them recede. Using a soft toothbrush, although it doesn’t feel like it is cleaning well, removes plaque just as effectively as a hard or medium head without causing damage to your gums.

A manual toothbrush is not the same as an electric one. With a manual toothbrush you need to perform the cleaning action yourself, whereas an electric toothbrush does this for you. When brushing, you need to make sure that you clean the outside surfaces of your teeth (which are along your cheeks and lips), the inside surfaces which your tongue touches and the chewing areas of back molar teeth. Whichever brush you choose, you need to brush for at least 2 minutes or until all plaque is removed.

Use of manual toothbrush:

Angle the brush at a 45 degree angle to your gum line and perform small side to side rubbing motion with light pressure. Moving along the whole mouth.

Use of electric toothbrush:

Place the head of the brush along the tooth and gum line. The head of the brush will rotate so you just need to place and hold it on the tooth for at least 5 seconds and then more to the next tooth. Do not apply pressure.

Flossing technique:

- Cut a piece of floss about 30 cm.
- Wrap one end of the floss around the middle finger of your left hand and the other end around the middle finger of your right hand until your hands are about 7-8cm apart
- Place the floss slowly between your teeth until it reaches your gums.
- Hug the floss around one of the teeth and move it up and down then hug it around the neighbouring tooth moving it up and down along the side of the tooth then pull the floss out
- Move across to the next tooth performing the same technique

There are other cleaning devices to use to clean between your teeth, such as interdental brushes and x-floss and super floss. These are used to clean where there are larger gaps between your teeth and also around implants and beneath bridges. We will instruct you as to which interdental tool and toothbrush will work best for you during your next hygiene visit. We have samples of manual, electric toothbrushes, floss and interdental brushes that we can use to demonstrate how to use them correctly. Our team is here to support you.