Oral Hygiene Instructions

Brushing

The most effective way to remove plaque from the teeth and prevent gum disease is by brushing regular brushing. A toothbrush with a small head and soft or medium bristles is recommended. Position the bristles of the toothbrush at a 45 degree angle to the teeth and gums, placing the end of the bristles at the point where the tooth and gums meet. With light pressure, vibrate the brush back and forth with very short strokes, keeping the same angle and position at the margin of the teeth and gums. Concentrate on 2-3 teeth at a time and repeat the process untill all the front and back surfaces of the teeth have been cleaned. Finally, brush the chewing surfaces of the teeth with a horizontal motion.

Electric Toothbrush

Angle the bristles at 45º to the gum line.
There’s no need to scrub – hold the brush in position and after a few seconds sweep the bristles away from the gum. Repeat around the outer and inner surfaces of all teeth. This is particularly effective inter-dentally.  The whole procedure should take about 2 minutes.

Flossing

You can clean between your teeth with dental floss, interdental brushes or tape. Dental tape is thicker than floss and many people find it easier to use. Flossing removes plaque and food particles from between your teeth and under the gumline, areas a toothbrush can’t reach. You should clean between your teeth at least once a day with floss.

The following suggestions may help:

  1. Break off about 30cm of floss, and wind most of it around one of your middle fingers. Wind the remaining floss around the same finger of the other hand. As you use the floss, you will take up the used section with this finger.
  2. Hold the floss tightly between your thumb and forefingers, with about an inch of floss between them, leaving no slack. Use a gentle ‘rocking’ motion to guide the floss between your teeth. Do not jerk the floss or snap the floss into the gums.
  3. When the floss reaches the gumline, curve it into a C-shape against one tooth until you feel resistance.
  4. Hold the floss against the tooth. Gently scrape the side of the tooth, moving the floss away from the gum. Repeat on the other side of the gap, along the side of the next tooth.
  5. Don’t forget the back of your last tooth.When flossing, keep to a regular pattern. Start at the top and work from left to right, then move to the bottom and again work from the left to right. This way you’re less likely to miss any teeth. At first it also helps to look in the mirror.

Click to view a video on the correct flossing technique.

Mini Flosser

Cleaning between the teeth is an essential part of a daily oral hygiene regime. Conventional flossing can be difficult especially when the teeth are very close together. The Miniflosser can help gain access to the interdental areas with floss.  A Specially designed bite plane allows you to gently ease the floss between the teeth. Plaque in the interdental area can be dislodged with a gentle backwards and forwards motion. Visible plaque will be removed. Click to view a video on the correct use of the mini flosser.

Interdental Brushing

The TePe interdental brush is used to clean in between teeth. Turning the brush on insertion will help access. Used daily, it removes plaque and food debris where your usual brush cannot reach. For spaces at the back of the mouth, bend the brush in a slight curve but never at right angles, this will help you access the more difficult-to-reach areas.  A choice of 8 colour-coded sizes is available to help clean different sized spaces. Click to view a video on how to use the TePe interdental brush

Superfloss

It is essential to floss beneath your bridge in order to maintain the health of the teeth and gums and also to increase the lifespan of the bridge by helping prevent decay on the adjacent teeth. We recommend using Oral-B superfloss and you can view the correct technique for using dental floss in this video.