Tools To Remove Dental Plaque At Home

Lately, I'm seeing portable electric dental plaque removers for sale to use at home. They catch my attention since taking care of my teeth is a priority. I'd sell all my worldly possessions to save my teeth!

As it turns out, using an electric dental plaque remover at home is a bad idea for several reasons that cause harm. If plaque removers claim to be safe, they likely are doing a poor job of removing plaque. A buildup of plaque can harden into dental tartar. If left untreated, this can lead to gum disease and tooth decay. Here's how it happens: Plaque produces acids that feed on sugar and break down tooth enamel resulting in tooth decay. Enzymes in bacteria also damage connective gum tissue and bone leading to periodontal disease.

For good oral health, it's vital to remove plaque between teeth. The tools used to remove the buildup of plaque are metal and ultrasonic scrapers that have dangerously sharp points. Dentists and dental hygienists have been trained in dental scraping to remove every bit of plaque and tartar from your tooth surface and under your gums safely. Without proper training in using these dental tools, we could damage our delicate gum tissue. (In the image above, the black electric plaque remover doesn't have a point, it uses thread, but how does the electric device help? In fact, the greater power in moving the thread might hurt your gums.) Gum tissue trauma can cause gum recession, pain from exposing a tooth's root, and scratching tooth enamel to cause tooth sensitivity. Without dental training, you might also "push tartar under your gumline causing gum abscesses."

I don't know about you, but I'm not going near those electric $39.99+ at-home dental plaque removers! They're either inadequate or unsafe as we're not trained to use them.

While we'll still need to visit our dentist twice a year for professional teeth cleanings, we can use 4 tools at home to help remove plaque safely before it hardens into tartar:

1) A soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride. Brush twice a day to clean teeth and remove plaque.

2) Interdental Cleaners such as dental floss, dental tape, or interdental brushes. Floss once a day.

3) An electric water flosser (uses water not a sharp point). Again floss once a day.

4) Antibacterial Plaque-Reducing Mouthwash. Rinse daily.

Flossing with thread dental floss (the string type you place between your fingers) is the most thorough method of removing plaque, but many of us hate doing it, so instead I use the 2nd best method, a water flosser every morning. It's better to floss every day with a water flosser than not to floss every day because you hate the most effective method. Nobody's perfect! :)

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Consider A Water Flosser

My teeth are my most valuable possession and yet I hate flossing. Rarely do I have food stuck in between my teeth, it's the formation of plague I worry about and fight by flossing. 

Dentists agree if we don't floss properly or daily, using a water flosser is a good practice. Flossing isn't easy, it's tedious. Sliding dental thread in at just the right angles and not too forcefully ... who the heck knows if we are flossing properly? So right after buying a Philips Sonic Toothbrush for $40 I invested in a water flosser. 

Here are 3 top models both dentists and customers like: 

1) Waterpik ION Professional Cordless Water Flosser - (top image👆).  Very compact for small counters, its handle is detachable from its base during use. You have to plug the water flosser base into the wall to charge it about every 3 weeks.

2) Waterpik Aquarius - Rated as powerful in cleaning teeth as the Waterpik ION, but bulkier and stays in its charger plugged into the wall during use.

3) Philips Sonicare Power Flosser 3000 - the model I use right now. Philips makes very good dental tools according to several dentists and product review sites. This one also stays in its charging base plugged into the wall during use.

Overall, plug-in-the-wall water flossers are more powerful and clean your teeth better than portable handheld units. While considered a plug-in-the-wall water flosser, the jury is out on how long the Waterpik ION's lithium battery lasts. Although I prefer using it, the inconvenience of possibly having to replace a battery is a  job and expense I'd rather skip.

Using a water flosser requires a learning curve. At first, the process of water flossing is an epic wet mess like a tsunami in your bathroom. You'll shoot water EVERYWHERE! Practice makes perfect. Here are some tips: Hang your head down in the sink. I fill the water tank up past the waterline then leave the lid off in order to floss my entire mouth in one pass. Another trick is to leave the device turned off at the handle until you get it in place inside your mouth. Expect to get your hand drenched unless you master laser-like focus while flossing. I do wish the Philip's water flosser cylinder utensil rotated as you move it over the inside-backside of your teeth, but you still manage, and the reason I leave the lid off the water tank is there is always a little water left in the tank I like to pour out so the tank is completely dry the next time I use it.

I always use the maximum settings of 10 and deep cleaning. Water flossing once per day is enough, and it should be done before (not after) brushing your teeth to loosen and then brush away the plague.

Teeth are strong, yet delicate. Although our teeth are covered with the strongest and hardest mineral in our body, called enamel, that enamel can easily be broken down by sugar or a lack of oral hygiene. Not brushing, flossing, and getting regular teeth cleanings will lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and eventually tooth loss. Once gone, they cannot regenerate and are gone forever.

You'd think a jewelry lover like me would name a sentimental piece of jewelry as my most valuable possession, but you'd be wrong ... it's my pearly whites. A sonic toothbrush or water flosser is by far a more essential gift than a piece of jewelry!🎁

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7 Surprising Benefits of Chewing Gum

Hubba Bubba has a soft texture and long-lasting flavor

For much of my adult life, I've been a gum chewer often craving a stick after dinner. Why I really don't know ... out of habit? Another piece of personal trivia: I have yet to need a root canal and I asked my dentist if chewing gum somehow prevented my ever having to have a root canal. He said, nope. There's no proven cause and effect relationship, but cavities do thrive in a dry mouth so chewing gum does help to keep your mouth lubricated, which may be beneficial. Drinking water helps prevent cavities.

It turns out that human beings have been chewing gum since the beginning of time ... starting with tree sap. The phrase "Chewing the fat" derives from an old Eskimo practice of chewing whale blubber like bubble gum, which takes a long time to dissolve. Nowadays chewing gum is made of elastomers (rubber-like substances), resins (plant or synthetic), waxes, oils, flavorings, and sweeteners ... and chewing it may have 7 Surprising Health Benefits:

1. Chewing gum can reduce stress and drowsiness when people are working or studying for exams. There's evidence to suggest the activity can lessen anxiety and depression. Perhaps similar to exercise, movement in general, diverts and channels your immediate worries, plus keeps you alert!

2. It has been shown to boost memory in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests by increasing blood flow to your brain.

3. Chewing gum increases salivation to clean food particles off your teeth and fight plaque, and your saliva also carries phosphate and calcium to help strengthen enamel.

4. An ingredient in gum, xylitol, a sugar alcohol with antibacterial properties, seems to prevent ear infections in children. Brands that contain xylitol include Pur, Spry, Xylitol, Stride, Orbit, Pure, Mentors, Icebreakers, and some Trident varieties. Yet be wary of too much of a good thing: Over 50 grams of xylitol may cause diarrhea or gas in some people, and the ingredient is toxic to dogs.

5. A stick of gum after dinner can lower the acid levels in your esophagus and thus help reduce acid reflux and heartburn.

6. In 10 studies using 1,659 participants, chewing gum helped to jump-start digestion and intestinal function after surgery.

7. A small research study with 46 adults found that chewing gum improved eye focus and so helped the participants see more clearly, however, scientists will tell us it's too small of a sample to be conclusive. It is very interesting.

Dentists like the xylitol, often an ingredient in sugarless gum. They also prefer chewing sugarless to sugared gum, but say if you chew gum containing sugar make sure you chew long enough to clean the sugar off your teeth. 

I tend to carry a few packs of gum when I travel in case I'm someplace where I can't brush my teeth after a meal. Who likes to have food particles in between your teeth? Nobody, it's safe to say!

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Toss The Tube: 3 Toothpaste Tablets

The idea of personal care products creating less waste in one space saving container with good clean ingredients is an excellent one. Enter solid toothpaste in tablet form!

Wait for a flourite to be added.

1) Bite Toothpaste Bits offers zero waste and non-toxic ingredients in a toothpaste pill. Dispite approving of the aims, I worry about the lack of  fluoride in an otherwise innovative brand. As far as I know, dentists still recommend using fluoride to prevent cavities for children and adults alike. And frankly, I only use fluoride toothpaste. For this reason,  I direct you to: 

#1 for fluoride and price

2) Dent Tabs - Not only does it have the beneficial flouride, on Amazon it is half the price of Bite with ingredients to whiten tooth and fight cavities.

3) Dr. Tiblet Mouthwash Tablet - is a hybrid mouthwash/solid toothpaste. It has fluoride but unfortunately comes in a plastic (not a reusable glass) bottle, and you get fewer tablets for the price. My 2nd choice because of its fluoride.

Photo: Getty

Solid toothpaste is ideal for travelers, eco-friendly folks, and anyone seeking the space saving convenience of carrying a few pills rather than a full tube of toothpaste. Free up storage space. Bite into a tablet, add water and a brush to clean your teeth either at home or while away from home if you wish.

Photo: parentmap

Now my lovely readers, you, too, are in the know! For bottleless shampoos and conditioners to accompany your tubeless toothpaste go here.


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5 Habits For Keeping Teeth And Gums Healthy

Call me vain regarding my teeth, since I'll do whatever it takes to maintain them in good shape. Preventative care is always less costly and better for our teeth, then having to fix neglect. What's more, I thought I was doing everything right to care for them, but I was wrong! I learned new better practises last week during my annual dental cleaning and checkup.

5 Habits For Keeping Teeth and Gums Healthy

are:

👄1) Brush your teeth for 2 minutes in the morning after breakfast.

👄2) Brush your teeth for 2 minutes before bedtime.

👄3) Foss your teeth for 1 minute before one of the brushings - 

So here's a surprise! The flossers (i.e. dental floss on a pick) I use are not as thorough as using dental floss on a spool that we must break off and twirl around our fingers, says my dental hygienist. The loose floss gets in between teeth better than the up and down motion of dental floss on a pick. I won't lie, I'm sorry to hear this as the floss on a pick is easy to use! C'est la vie. 

👄4) Rinse with mouthwash for 30 seconds twice a day -

This I do, but was told that alcohol free mouthwash is better than an alcohol based mouthwash because the alcohol kills nearly all the bacteria in your mouth, both good and bad, which can lead to an imbalance unless you rinse every single day, which I do!  Also: " ... studies by BioMed Research International suggest alcohol free mouthwashes have a better effect on the gloss, colour, hardness and wear of tooth composite restorations compared to mouthwashes that contain alcohol." Most of us have composites by the time we're in our 30s, as our gums wear away from our teeth. The expression "long of the tooth"originates from the reality that as gums recede with age, teeth appear longer.

My dentist likes Colgate Total 12 Hour Pro-Shield Antibacterial rinse or Listerine (which is also an antibacterial rinse).

👄5) A sonic toothbrush is "highly recommended" over hand brushing. 

My dental office likes the Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush - A basic, not an expensive model gets the job done. No need to buy all the bells and whistles, unless you wish to do so.

This last one I didn't expect. The dental hygienist was able to tell me which of my hands is dominant by looking at my gums. How so? I brush my teeth harder on the side that corresponds to my dominant hand! As it turns out, I brush my teeth too hard in general, which wears away gums. My new Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush should help me break this bad habit.

Another benefit of (only) sonic toothbrushes: They make 30,000 - 40,000 brush strokes per minute, compared with about 300 per minute if you brush by hand; the bristles rotate back and forth (the dental preferred way); and they remove plaque better by directing liquid and toothpaste between your teeth and below the gum line. So after returning home I ordered one.

Switching to a sonic toothbrush takes an adjustment. My first use tickled. The first day, it took me not 2 minutes to brush my teeth, but 6 minutes (i.e., 3 passes to get to all the teeth!), but soon I learned to cover all my teeth (including the backsides) in the 2 minutes the toothbrush runs before automatically shutting off. Beeps tell you to move through the teeth. Now I'm working on not spraying toothpaste on my bathroom mirror so I won't have to wipe it clean after a brush. Practice, practice, practice!

As it turns out, you can teach an old dog new tricks! New habits, better tools, cleaner teeth!

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No Skimping On Good Oral Hygiene

In my opinion, the single best investment a person can make for his or her health and appearance is the practice of good oral hygiene. Can you imagine living in a time before toothpaste? I wouldn't last a day without brushing my teeth. Although “toothpaste” has been used since 500 BC in India and China, we wouldn't recognize it, since it was neither a paste, nor in a tube, and it included ingredients not known to prevent cavities like soap, chalk, dragon's blood and burnt bread. In 1914 Colgate began adding fluoride to what was then called "dental cream," but this innovation didn't catch on until the 1950s.

Good oral hygiene is essential, not only for a beautiful smile, but for general health. Not flossing, or going to the dentist for regular checkups and cleanings leads to a whole host of dental and medical problems such as gum disease, infections, bone loss, and perhaps heart disease and strokes.* Did you know that dentists also check for early signs of oral cancer?

When times are lean, it's tempting to look for ways to cut back on expenses. You're better off economizing on hair and skin care if necessary, but never-ever neglect your teeth … or get too busy in life to do the basics:

1) Brush your teeth at least 3 times a day. -- Chewing sugar-free gum and drinking water are beneficial to teeth in-between brushing, though they doesn't replace brushing.

2) Switch from hard to soft bristles. -- Brushing with soft bristles preserves your gums. Hard, or medium bristles wear gums down, exposing your roots over time. It leads to tooth sensitivity, cavities and gum disease [namely gingivitis and periodontitis].

3) Visit your dentist every six months for checkups and cleanings. -- Do not skip the dentist to save money in the short run. If you don't have dental insurance, check with dental schools and community clinics until you find good, affordable dental care in your area.

4) Floss before bed every single night. -- Flossing removes food and plaque from teeth and along with brushing, prevents cavities, gum disease and maybe heart disease.*

5) Rinse with an antiseptic mouth wash daily. -- This kills germs and keeps gums healthy.

Your teeth should last a lifetime. If you haven't been to a dentist in the past six months, schedule an appointment today. Meanwhile ... brush ... rinse ... and floss!

*Researchers notice an important link between periodontal disease and heart health and are studying whether brushing and flossing can save lives. If nothing else, the association may be a bellwether of early heart disease.


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