Creating beautiful smiles since 1969
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Creating beautiful smiles since 1969
Lucy Stock reminds us that whether your teeth are crowned, crowded, or “too tight,” every gap needs cleaning if you want your smile to last a lifetime
I nearly dropped my drill the other day listening to those that shall remain nameless… Pete Snodden, Paulo Ross, and Rebecca McKinney on Cool FM. The early morning radio chat had turned to teeth and how to clean them, or not, as it turned out.
First off, they had issues with the little bristle brushes that clean between teeth; they found the wire in them annoying, and the brushes too bendy. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I don’t like the feeling of the metal wire either; it sets my teeth on edge.
However, loads of people love the tiny brushes. For everyone else, including me, there is a simple device and it’s as old as the hills. The marvellous dental wood stick. Wood sticks have a natural feel and are firm but flexible enough to access even awkwardly positioned teeth.
Top tip alert: to reach the back teeth, close your teeth completely when cleaning between them. This relaxes your lips, making it much easier to clean.
One of the presenters thought that if teeth were “too tight together” they didn’t need cleaned. Micro food particles lodge between even the “tightest teeth”, and bacteria waste no time scoffing these morsels, spewing out their toxins and decaying teeth if not shoved out of the way by a tooth cleaning gadget. Bottom line, all teeth need to be cleaned.
Unfortunately, tooth brushing alone isn’t enough to keep teeth for life, no matter who you are, and mouthwash isn’t a substitute for brushing. For very tight teeth, it’s all about finding a tooth cleaning solution that works. Traditional flossing is tricky as it requires two hands and a mirror. Floss harps, water flossers, or floss GumChucks make flossing as simple as possible.
Another idea bandied about was that if you have crowns, these teeth don’t need to be cleaned at home or by the hygienist. Yet, under a microscope, you can see the gap where the crown joins the tooth. You can also see the bacteria at magnification, which slosh around at this junction.
This means a crown doesn’t seal a tooth completely from the elements. It’s actually the opposite: the more crowns you have, the more you should clean at home and visit the hygienist if you want your teeth to last.
