Expert view: Family dental health
Dr Gary Stephenson offers five good habits to get everyone’s smiles shining white.
Most of us know the basics of brushing our teeth, and hopefully we can pass this on to our children so they develop good habits that become second nature. For the majority of people it’s recommended that brushing should be done twice a day and take two minutes at a time, using circular motions (like some power toothbrushes) rather than sawing back and forth, ensuring the back of each tooth is brushed as well as the front.
But beyond this, what do we really need to know? Here Dr Gary, principal nutrition and health scientist, offers some useful advice.
5 good habits for gleaming family gnashers
Fluoride and children
Children under three should ideally use a smear of child-specific toothpastes as these contain less fluoride (1,000 ppm) than regular toothpastes (1,350-1,500 ppm). Children 3-6 years should use a pea sized amount of regular toothpaste. This helps reduce the amount of fluoride they swallow (though the amounts ingested are unlikely to be dangerous in everyday amounts of toothpaste used). Importantly, excessive fluoride at this age can lead to their permanent teeth appearing stained, so using a reduced-fluoride toothpaste, only allowing your child to use a small, pea-sized amount at a time, and making sure he or she is supervised and doesn’t lick paste from the tube and spits the toothpaste out after using are all key tips. However, some fluoride is very important for protecting and strengthening the teeth, so try to get your child to spit out and not rinse after they have cleaned their teeth.
Toothbrushes
Dentists recommend that you change your brushes every three months. Generally power brushes which move rapidly in small clockwise and anticlockwise circular motions (this is called ‘oscillation rotation’) have been found to be more effective at removing plaque and controlling gum disease than manual brushes. However electric powerbrushes are not to everyone’s taste and so a manual toothbrush used properly can do a decent job, so long as you get into thorough cleaning regimes, remembering to use a circular motion and brush all tooth surfaces, rather than scrub back and forth.
Bristles
Go for a bristle that suits you, it’s not true that you need harder bristles to get your teeth really clean. Soft bristles will do a good job of cleaning your teeth if you brush well. You need a toothbrush with compact bristles with rounded ends, preferably with angled bristles of long and short filaments with a comfortable handle. Don’t choose a softer bristle just because your gums bleed, seek professional dental advice.
Think about drink
Many people don’t realise that, while they and their children might avoid too many fizzy and sugary drinks, the acids and sugar in fruit juice can also harm teeth if juice is drunk too often. For more on this, see our supersavvyme article 'The truth about juice', and bear in mind that even drinks that say ‘no added sugar’ aren’t necessarily sugar-free if there are naturally occurring sugars in the other ingredients, they are also usually still as acidic..You might also find 'Eating for a gorgeous smile' useful too.
Other useful cleaning habits
• Dental floss or tape can be really useful for cleaning between your teeth, but ask your dentist to show you and your family how to use these effectively.
• Plaque disclosing tablets can be a brilliant way to really get the message through to younger members of your family just how long it takes for a proper teeth-clean. These are little tablets you can chew on, which reveal all the plaque on your teeth in a highlighted colour which you then clean away as you brush. They do not permanently stain teeth, but it’s amazing what they show up – reminding you how much hard work a really good brush needs to be!
• Mouthwash. Most mouthwashes are suitable for adults so if you want to use one for your children, check the label for suitability. Some mouthwashes have additional fluoride to strengthen teeth, but most are antiseptic washes with ingredients to kill bacteria. Note also that many regular mouthwashes contain alcohol, though you can find alcohol-free options in most chemists.