Synonyms
Dental Care
Introduction
The health and condition of the teeth and the periodontium influence the well-being in a decisive way. Carious defects of the tooth substance and inflammatory processes in the area of the gums, the dental nerves or the jawbone can have negative effects on the whole organism. The human heart in particular is sensitive to high levels of germs that are flushed out of the oral cavity, which can often result in inflammation of the heart tissue (e.g. endocarditis). For this reason, regular and adequately performed oral hygiene is essential for health and should not be neglected.
Oral Hygiene
Only with optimized oral hygiene can teeth and gums be kept healthy in the long term and a beautiful smile be preserved. In addition to quantity (frequency), the quality of daily tooth cleaning also plays a decisive role. On average, it is assumed that each tooth brushing unit takes about three minutes.
However, this rule is not quite true. When brushing your teeth in the morning and taking care of your teeth after meals, a toothbrush is sufficient, so oral hygiene can be adequately done within three minutes. In the evening, however, you should plan a little more time for oral hygiene, because in addition to brushing the large tooth surfaces, cleaning the interdental spaces (lat. interdental spaces) is essential for long-term dental health.
Oral hygiene with a toothbrush
When it comes to the question of how to use a toothbrush correctly, even expert opinions differ widely. Suitable tooth brushing techniques differ quite clearly from one another in places and sometimes contradict each other. It is therefore obvious that the correct way of using a toothbrush depends on the individual tooth position of each patient.
Dentists therefore offer so-called prophylaxis appointments, in which a suitable tooth brushing technique is simulated, trained and checked at regular intervals by using special staining tablets. The most frequently recommended tooth brushing techniques with one of the manual toothbrushes are circular (circular) brushing according to “Bass”, the so-called Charters method (suitable especially for patients with gum disease) and vertical brushing according to “Stillman”. In the course of brushing according to Bass, the bristle field is placed at an angle of approximately 45° to the gums.
Half of the bristles are placed on the gum or the tooth surface. Starting from this basic position, small back and forth movements are performed. This has the advantage that the bristles reach a little way into the interdental spaces and can also remove soft plaque there.
In the area of the back of the tooth, oral hygiene is carried out by holding the toothbrush vertically and guiding it along the tooth in shaking movements. This tooth brushing technique is particularly suitable for oral hygiene in patients with periodontitis, because the loose contact between bristles and gums (lat. gingiva) massages the gumline and stimulates the blood circulation.
Tooth brushing technique according to Stillman Also in this form of oral hygiene, the bristles are placed at an angle of about 45° to the gums. Half of the bristles are placed on the gums or the tooth surface. According to Stillman, however, the toothbrush should be rolled towards the tooth starting from this basic position.
This technique also massages the gums and stimulates the blood circulation, but the disadvantage is the relatively limited cleaning of the interdental spaces. Stillman’s oral hygiene is particularly suitable for patients who suffer from receding gums. Tooth brushing technique according to Charters The tooth brushing technique according to Charters is not so much a real brushing technique as a massage technique that can be used in addition to brushing teeth.
Especially patients with severe periodontitis (after periodontal surgery) benefit from the positive effects of this type of oral hygiene. Even after charters the bristle field should be directed diagonally at an angle of about 45° to the tooth axis. From this basic position, the bristle field is then guided from the occlusal surface to the gums with slight pressure.
By small circular and shaking movements, an intensive massage of the gums takes place, which stimulates the blood circulation.Especially for children, but also for adults with ideal tooth position, the so-called KAI method is suitable as a tooth brushing technique in the course of daily oral hygiene. With this method, the chewing surfaces are cleaned first, then the outer and inner surfaces of the teeth are brushed thoroughly. The respective tooth surface should be brushed with small, circular movements. However, since it can generally be assumed that oral hygiene can usually be carried out more thoroughly and, above all, more gently on the gums when using an electric toothbrush, most dentists now recommend switching away from the manual toothbrush. This topic might also be of interest to you: Brushing the baby’s teeth
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