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| HYGIENE AND PERIODONTICS -
The care for the supporting structures for the teeth. |
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This section will cover what is meant by a cleaning,
a periodontal cleaning, a deep cleaning and scaling. In addition, we will discuss
different types of toothbrushes and the benefits and advantages and disadvantages
of each. We will also cover some additional aids for cleaning teeth, such as flossing
techniques, use of toothpicks, rubber tips, mouthrinses and tongue scrapers.
There are several misleading ads that talk
about the various toothpastes and toothbrushes on the market. It will
be our objective in this section to give you some information that can
help you make an educated decision as to what you should use that would
best serve your own needs. In addition, we will briefly discuss nutrition,
since that plays an important factor in the health of the gums and the
bone. |
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| CLEANING vs. PERIODONTAL MAINTENANCE - What's the difference? |
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| When do I need a cleaning and when do I need more than a cleaning?
The typical "cleaning" patient has 2-3 mm pockets and has little plaque
or bleeding. It would be ideal if all of our patients came into the office in this
condition. Unfortunately, when it has been a few years since you've had your teeth
cleaned, the tartar is on there a little tougher and often below the gumline, not
allowing you to acces those areas with your toothbrush and therefore, the bacteria
can do some damage to the tissues deep below the gums. If a patient has multiple
4-6 mm pockets, then those are the areas that a deep cleaning will benefit. It is
almost impossible for a patient to clean more than 3 mm around a tooth using the
typical toothbrush. This means that the bacteria build up and stay deep in those
pockets and continue to cause damage. It it critical that those areas are periodically
"disrupted" and the bacteria removed. |
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| PERIODONTAL POCKETS -
What are they and how do we get them under control? |
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| The periodontal probe was one of the best measuring instruments
made available to the dental profession. This small little instrument
has revolutionized the field of dentistry and brought periodontal care further along
in the last twenty years than in the last one hundred years. By measuring the pockets
around your teeth, we can identify where exactly the deeper problem areas are and
go after them. We can also show you which areas may need extra attention while cleaning. |
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| TOOTHBRUSHES -
Are these electric brushes beter than the manual ones? |
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| Toothbrushes were designed to remove
food, bacteria and plaque from your teeth. If you can
do that with a manual toothbrush, then you don't "need"
an electric toothbrush. For many people, the electric toothbrushes
offer a distinct advantage of giving a quicker and more thorough
cleaning. However, all electric brushes are not created equal. The
Sonicare toothbrush is currently being touted as one of the best
and sturdiest toothbrushes on the market for getting deeper into
the pockets than any other brush. Most periodontists prefer this
brush also. The ORAL B TRIUMPH toothbrush is a nice brush because
it has a "smart chip" in it which has a timer, an intensity
level, and a pulsating mode. Some of the earlier electric brushes
had too many moving parts and very very expensive to maintain and
repair. The Braun toothbrush offers a good, sturdy middle-priced
brush that works well when the concerns are getting around braces
and behind the front teeth, or if the plaque level in not bad below
the gums but rather above the gums it seems to build up quickly.
[Please note, these observations are from over 20 years of watching
and learning from patients at our office.] |
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| FLOSS - Before
or after I brush? |
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| Flossing is a good habit to get
into. Whether you floss before or after you brush is
not as important as whether you floss or not. It is obvious to most
dentists whether or not their patients floss. The ones whose gums
don't bleed and have 1-3 mm pockets, are generally those who do
floss. The others... well there are other factors involved in whether
the gums bleed or not, so we won't go pointing any fingers quite
yet. Some of these factors will be discussed below... As to how
often you should floss, it seems like patients who floss 3 or more
times per week show more improvement in gum health than a patient
who only once or twice a week. The goal of flossing is to not allow
the plaque to build up on the tooth surfaces. |
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| OTHER FACTORS -
Nutrition, smoking, age, hormones, heredity and health all play factors in oral health. |
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The number ONE bad habit you can do that will affect your gums
(negatively) is smoke. There are numerous studies that correlate smoking
and gum disease, bone loss and oral cancer. A person is FIVE times more likely to
have periodontal disease if they smoke, than if they don't. Smoking constricts the
blood vessels and doesn't allow them to heal well, it prevents flushing of the tissues
with antibodies which also slows healing.
Vitamin C is probably one of the most
important vitamins that you can take to help your gums heal faster
and improve the circulation in you body. In some rare instances,
there are cases where people will be negatively affected by the
added intake of Vitamin C, so we advise that you discuss it with
your doctor as well if you have any questions.
Heredity plays a bigger part in overall
cavity rate and periodontal condition that any other factor. Unfortunately,
it isn't a factor that we have control over, however, it does explain
why some people seem to be able to eat all the sugar and candy they
want and not take care of their teeth while someone else who hardly
eats any sweets will end up with cavities and gum disease.
Diabetes and other health conditions can play a role
in our bodies resistance to infection. If you have questions about specific situations
going on with your health, please discuss this with us when you are in the office.
Medications, especially oral contraceptives, blood thinners and steroids can affect
how your body responds to factors that might not impact a healthy person not taking
those would respond. |
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SITES ON THE WEB FOR FURTHER INFO:
Oral
Hygiene tips - From Procter and Gamble
Plaque
and Tartar Control - Good photos and definitions.
Periodontal
Disease - Good descriptions and drawings. |
