Best Dental Products for Dental Hygiene

Dental Hygiene is one of those things in life that takes just a small amount of time to give great benefits to our teeth and overall health. Luckily for us, there are some great dental products out there today that can aid us  in achieving the goal of good dental hygiene. It all starts with brushing at least twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and flossing at least once per day. Consistency is the key to maintaining good dental hygiene.

Best Dental Products

1) Automatic Toothbrush. An automatic toothbrush is able to reach places that most manual toothbrushes are unable to. Another advantage of an automatic toothbrush is that they help prevent wear that aggressive manual brushing causes. Most automatic toothbrushes have a timer on them. This ensures that you are brushing for the proper amount of time. An automatic toothbrush is especially helpful for patients with limited dexterity either from age or disease.

There are two types of automatic toothbrushes:

–UltraSonic Toothbrushes. These toothbrushes can generate between 30,000 and 40,000 brush strokes per minute. By comparison, manual toothbrushing can only generate 300 brush strokes per minute. The bristles also rotate in the recommended back and forth motion needed to clean teeth and gums properly. Another plus of these sonic toothbrushes is that they have a patented cleaning action that actually directs fluid between teeth and below the gum line to gently remove plaque and food debris.

–Electric toothbrushes. These toothbrushes can generate between 3,000 and 7,500 brush strokes per minute. Generally these brushes work by rotating in a circular motion. Some even have a dual action with pulsating motion added in as well to facilitate plaque and food debris removal. Although individual designs differ, the bristles in the brush head are typically either set in a circular format that rotates (the entire head rotates in unison) or individual tufts of bristles within the brush head spin independently. Some electric toothbrushes have both a rotating as well as a pulsating motion to help remove plaque and reduce gingivitis.

2) Water Irrigators with Periogen. the most common being the waterpik ultra. Most people do need these to aid in dental hygiene (especially those with bridgework, implants, and braces). The irrigation helps to stimulate blood flow to heal gum tissue, remove hard to reach food particles, and get up to 6mm into a periodontal pocket. Recently a new product has come to market called Periogen. Periogen is a unique product in that it is an oral rinse that removes tartar buildup between professional cleanings. The waterpik aids in getting the periogen oral rinse below the gum line and in between teeth.

3) Disclosing Solution. This is generally used for kids but can apply to adults having trouble keeping their teeth clean. The disclosing solution is used as a rinse and it will color the plaque and food debris on your teeth making what you normally miss during brushing very visible. You are able to then remove  any residue of color remaining and know what you need to do next time. Its a great visual tool to really make a difference in your oral health.

4) Flossers. While there are many new flosses that do a great job (such as reach total care), many patients do not floss regularly. Luckily, a product has been developed called a flosser( such as reach access flosser). Makes cleaning between teeth as easy as can be.  These are also helpful for those with limited dexterity as well as children.

5) Tongue Scrapers (also called tongue cleaner). This will allow you to remove food debris, fungi, dead cells and bacteria that builds up on the tongue. The benefit of this will be better breath. Decaying bacteria produce volatile sulphur compounds on the rear of the tongue.  These molecules account for about 85% of all cases of halitosis (bad breath). Scraping your tongue every night at bedtime can alleviate your bad breath.

Dental Hygiene Conclusion

There you have the top picks to aid in your dental hygiene. Dental hygiene is something that must be done consistently every day to have its greatest benefits. As always see your dentist for regular dental examinations as well as professional cleanings to keep your mouth healthy. Having a clean mouth will lead to a healthier you!