The correct oral hygiene is the first step to a healthy and beautiful smile. Thorough brushing, flossing and rinsing with an antibacterial liquid minimises the risk of tooth decay and gum disease, refreshes the breath and allows you to enjoy healthy teeth for many years.
Proper tooth hygiene requires cleaning them at least twice a day.. Washing them in the morning and in the evening is necessary, but it is worth remembering that the most important for prophylaxis is the quality and thoroughness of tooth cleaning. How to do it properly? Using a properly selected brush and toothpaste, and correctly applying the selected method of brushing.
The brush should be safe for our enamel, so choose those with soft bristles. A manual toothbrush should be used to brush your teeth for at least 3 minutes. When it comes to electric toothbrushes, 2 minutes are enough.
The method of brushing is also very important for the proper hygiene of the teeth and gum health. Dentists or professional dental hygienists usually talk about how to brush your teeth to prevent cavities and periodontal disease. In the case of manual toothbrushes, we most often brush our teeth in circular movements or with a vigorous horizontal movement, while the sweeping movement should dominate – away from the gums. Electric toothbrushes are used differently.
Good brushing technique is all about taking care of your teeth and gums. Avoid brushing which draws back or lowers the gums and exposes the necks of the teeth, or that pushes food debris into the gum pockets rather than removing them. This can lead to inflammation.
The toothpaste we use is also important. Not everyone can use all of the products available on store shelves. We have to remember that each of us has a different conditions in the oral cavity. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the enamel, gum biotype, the tendency to deposit bacterial deposits on the teeth, the risk of caries, etc. Because it is different for each of us, the selection of appropriate toothpastes and fluids for oral care should be tailored to individual needs. A dental hygienist helps in choosing the right products.
We can not forget that brushing teeth with a toothbrush only cleans 60% of the surface of our teeth. It is also very important to clean the interdental spaces regularly. For this purpose, there are dental floss, interdental brushes and irrigators.
At the very end of hygiene, you should also clean the tongue, which plays a very important role in the body of every human being. It is a muscular organ made of skeletal muscles covered with mucous membranes, and its surface is equipped with three types of papillae: peripheral, leafy and mushroom. Such a specific structure of the tongue makes it an ideal place for the accumulation of bacteria – it contains over 700 different species of these microorganisms. Therefore, during daily oral hygiene, we recommend that you do not forget to clean your tongue to prevent the proliferation of bacteria that are harmful to your health.
In patients with healthy periodontium and all healed cavities, follow-up visits may be performed once a year. However, if you belong to the group of people diagnosed with periodontal disease or there are permanent prosthetic restorations in the form of crowns, bridges or implants in the oral cavity, follow-up visits should be held every 6 months.
Before each visit to the dentist, you should brush your teeth as thoroughly as possible, clean the interdental spaces and rinse your mouth with a daily disinfection liquid. If it is the first visit after a longer period of time, it is also worth cleaning the teeth from all bacterial deposits and sediments which have formed on our teeth during their use. All dark coffee, tea and cigarette deposits as well as bacterial plaque and tartar should be removed before visiting a dentist. This allows the doctor to see clearly if there are cavities in the mouth. A dental hygienist is responsible for professional cleaning of the teeth of all deposits.
Details of the first visit and specimens of documents can be found here: first visit.
The first contact of a child with a dentist and dentist’s otreatment room should take place between 6 and 12 months of age in the form of an adaptive visit and last a maximum of 20 minutes. It is best to bring the child when he is refreshed and full, i.e. in the morning or after a daily nap.
During the first visits, parents find out not only about the health of the child’s oral cavity, but also receive information from the dentist about the proper hygiene and dietary habits . In order for parents to be able to properly carry out home hygiene for their children, they have to be professionally trained. During the adaptation visit, the schedule of subsequent visits is established, and the young child gets to know the surroundings and the staff of the treatment room – the dental chair, diagnostic tools, the doctor wearing magnifying glasses and a mask. Thanks to this, subsequent regular visits will be a natural activity for him. We have described the whole process of familiarising children with the dentist and the treatment room in the Parental’s Guide.
Teeth sensitivity is manifested by a feeling of pain or severe discomfort, which is a reaction to stimuli – most often to the cold or sugars contained in food. If you notice that you experience sudden pain when you eat ice cream or drink cold drinks, and it lasts as long as your teeth are in contact with the stimulus, you are probably hypersensitive. In this situation, you should visit a dentist who will select the appropriate treatment method.
The health of the oral cavity of a pregnant woman is extremely important. Treating teeth during pregnancy is possible and even recommended. The best time for the dental procedures, if necessary, is the second trimester. Gingivitis is the most common dental problem in pregnant women. They are then reddened, bleed and swell. The main reason for this is the deterioration of control over the removal of plaque, followed by hormonal changes. Therefore, it is extremely important that pregnant women visit the dentist regularly, at least once each trimester. Untreated inflammation and caries can lead to premature birth of a baby with low weight.
The first and most important cause of bleeding gums is inflammation caused by a build-up of bacteria. This is due to poor oral hygiene. If the plaque and tartar are not removed regularly, they accumulate on the teeth and in the gingival pockets, leading first to gingivitis and then to chronic periodontal disease. If we notice that our gums are bleeding during brushing or flossing, we should visit a dentist as soon as possible, who will determine the cause and select the appropriate treatment.
Unfortunately, no. Toothache will not go away on its own, and if it becomes less intense for a moment, you can be sure that it will return – but stronger. That is why you should visit your dentist as soon as possible. We accept people with extremely severe pain outside the standard schedule – as emergencies.
Magdalena Barszczyk-Mazur
dental hygienist
We have equipped our facilities with modern devices, such as a tomograph, 3D intraoral scanner or microscope, to guarantee you dental care supported by the 21st century technologies.
