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A virtual care package from worried dental hygienists

April 2, 2020 By Trish Walraven 3 Comments

COVID-19 restrictions limit dental visits to all but emergency care, which means that millions of patients are overdue to have their teeth cleaned.

And because preventive services are not critical in the short term, all dental hygienists affected by the shut down are now out of work. However, the jobs will come back. What’s more concerning is the damage that may be happening in our patients’ mouths without a little extra intervention.

A few years back, do you remember the guidance that hygienists and dentists shared with you whenever we discovered that blue plastic bits were getting stuck under our patients’ gums? That was the dental community banding together here to get the word out, and we were able to convince manufacturers to stop adding plastic to toothpaste.

We’re coming together again in the same place, this time to pack a few personal items into your phone, tablet, computer, or whatever you’re looking at right now. This is the delivery we’re shipping to our patients, to take care of you with our thoughts and our hearts, and to share our best tips to make sure that you’re as healthy as possible at your next dental visit.

You want me to put my toothbrush where?

Care Package Item #1: Brushing your teeth with your other hand for the first minute, then switching hands.

This is all about about getting re-introduced to friction and tapping into novelty to help you learn something about yourself. When you pick up your toothbrush, you normally do so with your dominant hand. Instead (and this is THE KEY) you will grab your toothbrush with your other hand. If you’re a righty, then put your toothbrush in your left hand. Add toothpaste if you’d like and start brushing. Pay attention to how your gums feel when the bristles touch them. Most people don’t realize this, but they avoid touching their gums properly when they brush.

If it hurts to brush with your non-dominant hand, this is a sign that your toothbrush may be too hard, because soft brushes should feel pretty normal at this point. Keep brushing with your other hand, all around, then try to make the bristle contact feel the same when you place the toothbrush back in your dominant hand. It was surprising the first time I did this, because I realized I didn’t brush as well in areas that I thought I did. Even though I’m a hygienist, this helped me uncover weaknesses in my own brushing technique. Just watch out how you spit, because your other hand may now be in your trajectory field and end up all slobbery.

What’s your best flossing hack?

Care Package Item #2: Curved 3D flossers

As products go, this is a very specific one! There’s no substitute for using a string under your gumline, and if you have a tool that angles the string perfectly every time, you’re more likely to floss frequently and effectively. Make sure that your flosser is curved in 3D, not just flat:

With your 3D curved flosser, click the string between each place that your teeth make contact and floss deep under the gum tissue, once for each side, just like this:

I’ve demonstrated this on a front tooth for convenience, but the payoff of using these 3D flossers is when you get to really tight spaces in the back. My favorite brand is the Dentek Complete Clean Back Teeth, but there are others. Just make sure you purchase the curved flossers and not the flat ones.

Whoa, what should I do about blood or braces?

Care Package Item # 3: Soft Toothpicks

If you’re bleeding when you brush or floss, or can’t clean effectively with either of those items because of metalwork in your mouth, you’ve got to dig deeper. Remember, the stuff you’re trying to clean off of your teeth isn’t necessarily food; instead it grew there like a layer of pond scum, so you need to disrupt it as often as you clean your armpits.

Try gently poking deep into the areas that tend to bleed easily, like the gum pockets you’ve been told you have (that’s mine up there), or create some friction up in the gumline next to an orthodontic bracket or retainer wire. As long as you don’t feel any pain, you should be able to sweep away the germs that contribute to tooth loss with interdental cleaners like the Gum brand Soft Pick.

No toothpaste? Are you kidding?

Care Package Item #4: Brushing without toothpaste first

Hear me out – I am addicted to the feeling of mouth freshness. This is what the detergent industry has turned me into, a little mint whore. However, the foamy nature of toothpaste tends to obscure exactly what it is that I’m brushing, so periodically, I’ll spend the first 30 seconds of my brushing ritual without toothpaste. After that, it’s like an exciting reward, a delayed gratification of sorts. Hey, when you have to stay isolated from the rest of society for a while, the little joys start adding up.

Will overeating contribute to cavities?

Care Package Item #5: Swishing with water all day

A side effect of sheltering in place is boredom eating, which means excess carbohydrates fermenting in our mouths leading to a rapid increase in dental decay. To combat this, each time you eat, be sure to swish with a mouthful of water immediately afterwards. This will help you rinse away excess particles and acid. Remember – dentists are discouraged from filling cavities at the moment – they are more likely to be put in a position to pull an otherwise good tooth to get you out of immediate pain and danger of having a life-threatening dental abscess.

We’ve shared this article with you because we’re worried! Priorities are going to change in the coming months, and our careers are built on the foundation that patients should be able to keep their teeth for a lifetime with minimal professional care. Stay healthy, friends, and we look forward to seeing you back in the office as soon as possible.

Trish Walraven, RDH BS is a dental hygienist in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who is sad for so many of her colleagues that have lost their livelihoods. She would like to inspire her fellow hygienists and dentists to feel brave enough to share their concerns and best home care ideas so that we can begin the work of reconnection.

Filed Under: News, Preventive Care Tagged With: cavity prevention, dental hygiene, flossing, home care, toothbrushing

How to trick kids into brushing their teeth

April 24, 2019 By DentalBuzz Staff 2 Comments

It’s a no-brainer. Dental hygiene, specifically brushing your teeth, is important. But, if you’re a parent with little kids, it’s not always easy. Kids can be stubborn – especially when every aspect of their life is controlled by their parents. This can quickly turn a two-minute task, like brushing your teeth, into a difficult ordeal and even a chore.  But, don’t worry! We’ve asked parents what their go-to tricks are to get their kids to not only brush their teeth, but enjoy doing it.

Tip 1: Make it a competition

There’s nothing like sibling rivalry, and it happens even without parental interference. So, why not use this to get your kids pumped about brushing their teeth? Tell them that the winner is chosen by who has the best -smelling breath after two minutes of brushing their teeth. The prize can be something simple, like a temporary tattoo or a glow stick they can take to bed. If you can’t tell the difference between whose breath is better, just switch up the winner every time, you sneaky parent, you.

Do you only have one child? Then brush your teeth with them and use the two-minutes as a countdown. Once the clock hits 0, use the below tip to see whose teeth are the cleanest.

Tip 2: Use a “Tooth Check” after every brushing 

If you don’t think your kids are brushing their teeth properly, take a picture of their smiles after every brush. Then, use the picture to zoom in and show them how icky their teeth are when they don’t brush correctly. Not only will this show them why brushing is important, it’ll hold them accountable so they learn the right way to take care of their teeth.

Tip 3: Show your kids pictures of neglected teeth

This is a classic scare-tactic type tip. If your kids are being stubborn and refuse to brush, show them what it looks like when you don’t take care of your teeth. You can also show them this video that explains what happens to neglected teeth. 

Cavities are only the beginning of the painful and gross domino effect that can happen if you don’t take dental hygiene seriously. Research from the American Dental Hygienists Association has found a connection between heart disease and key bacteria in periodontal disease. Also, inflammation in your mouth may cause inflamed arteries which can lead to a stroke. Depending on how old your kids are, you can decide how much of this information is necessary to get them to brush those teeth!

Tip 4: Get fun toothbrushes and decorative cups for mouthwash

As a kid, I hated brushing my teeth. And apparently, I didn’t understand how to do it correctly. I’m the baby of my family with two older brothers. By the time my parents had to teach me – the third child – anything, they would lean on my brothers to show me first. So, they were shocked after a trip to the dentist when my brothers had zero cavities and I had SEVEN. Low and behold, my six year old self was unaware that you are, in fact, supposed to brush behind your teeth, too. I had only been brushing the tops and fronts of my teeth. Nice. 

My mom intervened and bought me a new, sparkly teal toothbrush and filled me in on the proper brushing etiquette. She also started buying superhero Dixie cups that made mouth-washing fun. While decorated toothbrushes can be overpriced, try seeing what your local Dollar Tree has for kids’ toothbrushes. You might be surprised to find their favorite cartoon character or color available.

Tip 5: Make brushing your teeth a family affair

As we saw above, kids learn by example. So, brushing your teeth alongside them can help teach them while offering up some time to bond with them. If you travel for work or are in a separate household from your kids at times, you can try video chatting with them while you all brush your teeth and get ready for the day or for bed.

It’s recommended that you brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes in the morning and again before you head to bed. Starting your day and ending your day brushing your teeth together can help your kids establish a routine that they’ll carry on for the rest of their lives!

Caroline Gillard is a public relations professional and freelance writer for the health care and financial services industries. As a stand-up comedian on the side (and after the right amount of drinks) she aspires to bring comedy to her writing while providing useful information for her readers.

 

 

 

 

References:

ADHA: Oral Health-Total Health: Know the Connection. https://www.adha.org/resources-docs/7228_Oral_Health_Total.pdf

Quick Facts: Toothbrushing Infographic. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/~/media/MouthHealthy/Files/A-Z/Infographic_Brushing_102714.pdf

Filed Under: Preventive Care, Uncategorized Tagged With: pediatric dentistry, toothbrushing

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DentalBuzz explores rising trends in dentistry with its own slant. The speed at which new products and ideas enter the dental field can often outpace our ability to understand just exactly the direction in which we are heading. But somehow, by being a little less serious about dentistry and dental care, we might get closer to making sense of it all.

So yeah, a tongue-in-cheek pun would fit really nicely here, but that would be in bad taste. Never mind, it just happened anyways. Stop reading sidebars already and click on some content instead.

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