REQUIREMENTS FOR TOOTHBRUSING/TECHNIQUES

REQUIREMENTS FOR TOOTHBRUSHING

1. A medium textured toothbrush preferably one with a small head and  angulated handle  for accessibility to posterior teeth.

2. Fluoride containing toothpaste

3. Clean water 

 

                                                Smear’ – under 2 years.    Pea-sized’ – 2-5 years

 

 

 

 

The above illustration is good for children to prevent them from swallowing toothpaste.

Note that children should use a soft textured toothbrush to prevent gum damage.

Tooth brushing technique:  

Several technique are available but the  bass method is recommended.

This involves brushing the teeth surface with vertical strokes, brush the top surfaces of teeth and the inside (lingual surfaces) followed by the tongue.

Common mistakes during tooth brushing

1. More people brush with horizontal strokes, this causes damage to teeth and gum and presents with cervical abrasion and gingival recession

 

 

Cervical abrasion



gingival recession



 

 

2. Other people brush the teeth surface very well and ignore the lingual surface ,this results in accumulated plague and calculus on the inside of the teeth as demonstrated by this patient below

 

 

 

 

BLEACH YOUR TEETH AND NOT YOUR SKIN

Here is good news for those people with generalized yellow, orange, or light brown extrinsic discoloration. Teeth bleaching/Whitening procedure offer you whitening of your stained/discoloured teeth within 2 hours to 4weeks depending on the method employed.
Teeth whitening is a safe and conservative treatment method for mild to moderate disoloured teeth.  The likes of Tonto Dikeh will benefit from this treatment.

Teeth whitening techniques can be as simple as scaling and polishing in case of accumulated dirts being the cause of teeth stains. It is a simple procedure necessitating patient’s cooperation. It can be done in the dental office and at home under strict supervision/instruction of a dentist. Either home or office bleaching can be utilized likewise the combination of the two in cases with darker stains

Available teeth whitening methods include:

-Use of whitening toothpaste

-Whitening strips

-In office bleaching method

-Home bleaching method

before bleaching

after bleaching

 

 

See procedure after the cut.

Tonto Dikeh says "Look wat tobacco can do to ur Teeth.....".

Note the brown stains on her anterior teeth

HOW NURSING MOTHERS DESTROY THEIR CHILDREN'S TEETH

Nursing mothers engage in the use of pacifiers to prevent their children from crying, however the use of wrong pacifiers are employed hence rampant caries in which almost all the baby teeth are destroyed by caries. This condition is referred to as Rampant caries, Nursing bottle caries or early childhood caries (ECC) depending on the affected teeth , location on tooth and number of affected teeth. Rampant caries is an aggressive and rapidly progressing type of disease (Silverstone et al, 1981) necessitating caution in feeding habits and oral health care of children. The contents of the feeding bottles of babies are almost always sweet liquid, majority of which are refined carbohydrates which serves as substrates for microbial action and eventual caries formation. As the feeding bottle or breast lies in baby’s mouth while baby sleeps off, continuous presence of carbohydrate in the mouth in the presence of the teeth over a period of time completes the requirement of formation of dental caries. Caries form on many of the teeth and presents as yellow or black coloration in baby’s mouth at the same time.


Rampant caries

Routes of Transmission
1. The causative organism, mostly Strept. mutans may be transmitted vertically from mother/ caregiver to child through salivary contact. This is affected by the frequency and amount of exposure as well as levels of strept. mutans in the mouths of mother/caregiver.
2. Horizontal transmission (e.g. between other members of a family or children in daycare) also occurs.
The effects of early childhood caries (ECC) include:
- Higher risk of new carious lesions in both the primary and permanent dentitions
-Hospitalizations and emergency room visits
-Increased treatment costs
-Risk for delayed physical growth and development
-loss of school days and increased days with restricted activity
-Diminished ability to learn
-Diminished oral health related quality of life
Prevention of early childhood caries
1. Milk or water should constitute the majority of drinks given to young children
2. Serve sweet drinks only at meal time
3. Do not leave infants alone with any drink
4. Never use drinks on a dummy as a pacifier
5. Avoid the use of feeding bottle,and replace it with a spoon and cup
6. Do not give drinks at bedtime or during the night.
7. Brush their children’s teeth with a small pea sized amount of a low dose fluoride toothpaste .

References

1. http://www.edinburghdentist.co.uk/Dental%20PDF%20files/rampant.pd

 

2. http://www.aapd.org/media/Policies_Guidelines/P_ECCClassifications.pdf

 

3. Policy on Early Childhood Caries (ECC): Classifications, Consequences, and Preventive Strategies. A collaborative effort of the American Academy of Pedodontics and the American Academy of Pediatrics

4. Berkowitz RJ. Mutans streptococci: Acquisition and transmission. Pediatr Dent 2006;28(2):106-9.

WHO SHARES YOUR TOOTHBRUSH?

Is it your spouse,twin,child or siblings? This is a a wrong way to show love as it is neither healthy for you nor those you share your toothbrush with. Sharing toothbrushes lead to transmission of infection from one person to another. It's better to clean the mouth with toothpaste only than share a toothbrush. Take this seriously and ensure your house help is not sharing with your children. Will expanciate on this later.

YOUR ORAL HEALTH:A REFLECTION OF YOUR MENTAL STATUS

Aside the utterances of a depressed or mentally ill person which is usually incoherent, the oral health through the condition of the oral cavity (mouth) speak volume about the mental status of an individual. With regular dental checkup, a dentist can be helpful in the early diagnosis of mental illness as oral lesions may be the first or only manifestation of a mental health problem.

Findings such as poor oral hygiene, generalized cervical abrasion, erosion of palatal surfaces of teeth, temporomandibular joint dysfuction syndrome, are pointers to mental instability.

Forms of Mental illness

-Anxiety/depression

-Bulimia and anorexia nervosa

-schizophrenia.

-psychosis

others

Common complaints at the dental office

-Bad breathe

-worm in my teeth

-severe pain which does not disturb eating and sleeping

Features of depression

-Increase carbohydrate consumption from decrease serotonin metabolism

-Impaired function of the immune system

-Both depression and antidepressant medication have been associated with xerostomia (Reese, 2003)

Effects of mental illness/medication on oral health

1.     A number of mentally ill present with poor oral hygiene while some engage in scrupulous cleaning. Force is exerted on cleaning the mouth thus causing wearing away of the cervical aspects of teeth, resulting in dentine sensitivity and its sequelae.

2.     Chronic facial pain in form of temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome.

3.     Bad breath where it does not exist (psychogenic halitosis)

4.     Dry mouth (xerostomia) thus superimposed infection, ulceration and mouth odour.

5.     Palatal erosion in condition of bulimia nervosa. Induced vomiting causes the acid from the stomach to dissolve the enamel of the teeth this leads to dentine exposure and its sensitivity.

6.     Antipsychotic drugs predisposes to dry mouth thus hindering the effect of saliva which include ease of swallowing and chewing, antibacterial effect and washing away of food debris.

7.     Caries and periodontal diseases

References

1.     Elter JR, White BA, Gaynes BN, Bader JD (2002): Relationship of clinical depression to periodontal treatment outcome. J Periodontol 73(4):441-9.

2.     Lieutenant Randy Reese (2003): Depression and dental health.Clinical update,vol.25 No 1.

EFFECT OF YOUR LOOK ON YOUR SELF ESTEEM

Your teeth form part of your appearance therefore there arrangement matters for an utmost outlook, confidence  and self esteem.

Malocclusion is the haphazard arrangement/malalignment of the teeth within the jaw bones.

It results from disproportion of teeth, jaw bone and soft tissues of the mouth and comprises one or more of these:

-proclined anterior teeth

-overlapping teeth (crowding)

-generalised spacing

-presence of diastema /diastemata

-abnormal positioning of teeth

-rotation of teeth

How happy are you with your teeth arrangement? Do you know that you can get your teeth rearranged to have a better look, function properly and prevent pain?

A 23 year old Nigerian undergraduate

The above appearance in a bride to be is not nice, consult a dentist for correction of this malocclusion for a better look to restore your confidence .

Causes of malocclusion

-Genetically inherited

Jaw disproportion

-Too large teeth responsible for crowding due to inadequate space on the jaw to accommodate the teeth.

-Too small teeth in a normal jaw or normal teeth size in a large jaw causes generalized spacing

-Too small jaw responsible for crowding due to bigger teeth than the jaw can accommodate

-Too large jaw is responsible for generalized spacing

Cleft of the lip/palate or both

While some teeth are missing, some are malformed and others may be malpositioned

-Acquired

 Habits of sucking thumb/tongue

Tooth loss without replacement

Effects of malocclusion

Prones the proclined teeth to fracture and its sequelae

Difficult mastication and eventual malnutrition

Temporomandibular joint pain

Impaired esthetics

Psychosocial problems from reduced self esteem

Treatment

Orthodontic treatment which utilizes appliances in form of devices and wires to rearrange the teeth.

Advantages of orthodontic treatment

-Reduces risk of tooth decay

-Reliefs TMJ pain

-Esthetic improvement

-Restores self-esteem and confidence

For more information contact us.