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Food and drink can stain your teeth. Sadly, some well-loved favourites top the list: coffee, tea, red wine, grape or cranberry juice, blueberries, soy sauce, tomato sauce and more.
No need to panic! You don’t have to avoid these foods altogether but it is a good idea to brush or rinse your mouth thoroughly after enjoying them. Here are some tips:
Drink through a straw
When you drink fizzy drinks, juice and iced coffee or tea, using a straw can help to keep the liquid away from the visible front surfaces of your teeth.
Brush, floss and rinse
Plaque makes your teeth sticky and can help give stains something to hold on to.
Brush twice a day
Flossing and using an antibacterial mouth rinse twice a day will help you fight plaque and therefore make your teeth less likely to stain.
Have your teeth professionally cleaned
At least twice a year, make an appointment with a dental hygienist for a thorough cleaning. Clean teeth look brighter.
Don’t smoke
Whether you chew it or smoke it, tobacco stains teeth.
Teeth staining can ruin a great smile and make you look older than your years. The truth is what you eat and drink has a big impact on the whiteness of your teeth.
Longborough offers Professional Tooth Whitening.
If your teeth have become stained or if they have always been discoloured, whitening can transform their colour quickly, painlessly and with no damage to the enamel.
Remember, proper tooth care can help keep your teeth bright. So eat, drink, and be merry and brush your teeth regularly.
Alison
Practice Manager
A toothbrush is used to remove bacteria (plaque) from our mouths, to maintain a healthy dentition. It is important to keep our teeth free from decay and also to keep the supporting tissue (gums) healthy. Our gums should create a tight collar around our teeth to help keep our teeth firm. Teeth can be lost because of gum disease and unfortunately, in my role as a Dental Hygienist, I see many people losing healthy teeth because their gums have let them down.
Keeping your gums healthy depends on many factors but probably the most important is a good tooth brushing technique. I find the best results come from using a rechargeable electric toothbrush. You need to look for a brush that has the following features:
• A small head so you can reach all the awkward places
• A timer so you know you are spending long enough brushing
• A pressure indicator so you do not apply too much pressure
When using a toothbrush, you should brush the point where your tooth comes out of your gum. This is called the gum margin. An electric brush does the movement for you so you do not have to 'scrub' as many people do with a manual brush.
Brushing with an electric brush, on the gum margin, for the correct length of time will remove the plaque to keep your teeth clean and fresh and most importantly your gums tight and healthy. it should be efficient and systematic. Don't jump from place to place. Just move your brush carefully along all your teeth. Your gums need to be brushed, but remember they are soft tissue, treat them with respect or you will hurt yourself. Just think that you would not scrub your face with a scrubbing brush!
You should be able to brush your gums without them bleeding. Bleeding is normally a sign that your gums are a little inflamed and you may need to have a scale and polish. Scale (tartar) builds up if the soft plaque is not removed well enough and is able to harden on your teeth. If you have any hard build up on your teeth we need to remove it for you very gently in the surgery.
The main reason for using toothpaste when we clean our teeth is to put fluoride onto our teeth. Fluoride makes our teeth harder and therefore more resistant to decay. Fluoride has been the biggest boon to dentistry in my lifetime. Other reasons for using a paste is that they foam and they usually taste nice to create a nice fresh feeling after brushing.
You need only use a small amount of paste, brush for the required time and then just spit out the excess. Do not rinse after you have brushed and it is best not to swallow. Children should use a very small amount of a child's fluoride paste, which has a lower concentration of fluoride.
I hope this brief summary of brushing is useful. If there is anything else you want to know please come and see us. We are always pleased to talk to you at length in the practice.
Janet Scott
Dental Hygiene Therapist
Longborough
Have you ever wondered how oral hygiene takes place in space?
Well, wonder no more! Check out this video where Canadian astronaut
Chris Hadfield explains how to brush your teeth in space: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU9kffoAQ8U
So there you have it. Your basic toothbrush and toothpaste can serve you just as well off the planet as they do on Earth.
NOTE: The brushing technique (and swallowing toothpaste) didn’t impress our hygienist, Janet Scott, who said, "I’m amazed that guy has any teeth left!"
You can read Janet’s advice on brushing your teeth in our next blog.
Alison
Practice Manager
