How I Changed My Dental Habits for Good
The dentist looked at me when he was through looking inside my mouth. “You have a lot of plaque built up. A lot. We need to work together to get your mouth in better shape. As it stands right now, we have a lot of corrective work to do, a lot of preventative work to do, and a deep cleaning of your teeth.”
I could feel my face blushing. I thought that I was doing a good job. I remarked that flossing was supposedly no longer recommended and I had stopped. “I would never tell someone to stop giving cleaning attention to their teeth. This isn’t horrible. This isn’t irreversible.”
The dental hygienist came in and asked me to brush my teeth in front of her like I would do at home. She asked what kind of toothbrush, and all sorts of other questions. There was no judgment, we all were part of a team to make my mouth well again.
Here is what I learned:
- An electric toothbrush with rotating bristles is always preferable to a manual toothbrush.
- A water pik or similar device is excellent, especially for removing fresh, not built up debris. Add a capful of mouthwash for a little deeper clean.
- Floss is absolutely terrific for removing debris and plaque, even past the gumline. It doesn’t matter whether it is a flosser or loose dental floss that you wrap around a…
