10 tooth brushing mistakes

Tooth brushing is such an ingrained habit, few people think twice about it, but as with any habit, you can get sloppy, and that can lead to cavities and gum disease.

Here, dentists and health experts point out 10 common tooth brushing mistakes and how to fix them.

1. Not using the right toothbrush

The British Dental Health Foundation recommends using a small to medium size toothbrush. Make sure the handle is comfortable to hold.

Which is better: electric or manual?
This generally comes down to individual preference.
According to the British Dental Health Foundation, electric toothbrushes have been proven to be at least 25% more effective than manual toothbrushes. Your dentist or hygienist can advise which one best suits your dental needs.

2. Not picking the right bristle

Some toothbrushes have angled bristles, others straight. So is one type better? Dentists we interviewed said no. It’s more related to brushing technique than how the bristles are angled. The British Dental Health Foundation recommends a brush with soft to medium multi-tufted, round-ended nylon bristles.

Bristles should be sturdy enough to remove plaque but not hard enough when used properly to damage the teeth.

3. Not brushing often enough or long enough

You should clean your teeth at least twice a day, especially last thing at night. However, if you eat or drink sugary foods, you ought to clean more often. Cleaning for two minutes is usually sufficient to remove plaque.

4. Brushing too often or too hard

While brushing your teeth three times a day is ideal, doing it more frequently than that may not be beneficial. Brushing more than four times a day may seem compulsive. Excessive brushing could expose the root of the tooth to irritation, and that could in turn irritate the gums. Brushing too vigorously can also erode tooth enamel. The trick is to brush gently for two to three minutes.

5. Not brushing correctly

To brush your teeth correctly, the British Dental Health Foundation recommends that you:

• Place the head of your toothbrush against your teeth, then tilt the bristle tips to a 45 degree angle against the gum line. Move the brush in small circular movements, several times, on all the surfaces of every tooth.
• Brush the outer surfaces of each tooth, upper and lower, keeping the bristles angled against the gum line.
• Use the same method on the inside surfaces of all your teeth.
• Brush the biting surfaces of the teeth.
• To clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth, tilt the brush vertically and make several small circular strokes with the front part of the brush.

6. Starting in the same place each time

Many people start brushing the same part of their mouth over and over, dentists find. It’s better to start in a different place each time so that the same teeth are not left till last -- by that time you may be running out of steam.

7. Skipping inner tooth surfaces

Most people forget to brush the inner surfaces of teeth -- the surface that your tongue presses against. The plaque harboured there is just as damaging as the plaque on the front.

The most commonly skipped area, dentists say, is the inner surface of the front teeth.

8. Not following up with a rinse of the brush

Bacteria can grow on an unrinsed toothbrush. Then the next time you brush your teeth, you may actually put old bacteria back in your mouth. Rinsing the toothbrush after you brush will also help remove any leftover toothpaste.

9. Not letting the toothbrush dry out

If you have a toothbrush that's perpetually damp, it will cultivate more bacteria. If the bristles stay soggy, you can misshape them as you use the brush. You could keep two brushes so that one is always dry.

10. Not changing the toothbrush often enough

The British Dental Health Foundation recommends changing your toothbrush every two to three months, or sooner if the bristles look frayed.

A visual inspection of the bristles is better than sticking to any strict timescale for changing your brush.

Dentures

Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable; however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental implants. There are two main categories of dentures, depending on whether they are used to replace missing teeth on the mandibular arch or the maxillary arch.

Causes of tooth loss

Patients can become entirely edentulous (without teeth) due to many reasons, the most prevalent being removal because of dental disease typically relating to oral flora control, i.e. periodontal disease and tooth decay. Other reasons include tooth developmental defects caused by severe malnutrition, genetic defects such as Dentinogenesis imperfecta, trauma, or drug use.

Types of dentures

Removable partial dentures

Removable partial dentures are for patients who are missing some of their teeth on a particular arch. Fixed partial dentures, also known as "crown and bridge", are made from crowns that are fitted on the remaining teeth to act as abutments and pontics made from materials to resemble the missing teeth. Fixed bridges are more expensive than removable appliances but are more stable.

Complete dentures

Conversely, complete dentures or full dentures are worn by patients who are missing all of the teeth in a single arch (i.e. the maxillary (upper) or mandibular (lower) arch).

History

Around 700BC, Etruscans in northern Italy made dentures out of human or other animal teeth. These deteriorated quickly but, being easy to produce, were popular until the mid 19th century.

The oldest useful complete denture appeared in Japan, and has been traced to the ganjyoji temple in Kii Province, Japan. It was a wooden denture made of Buxus microphylla, and used by Nakaoka Tei (–20 April 1538). This wooden denture had almost the same shape as modern dentures retained by suction. It also shaped to cover each condition of teeth loss. Wooden dentures were used in Japan up until the Meiji period.

London's Peter de la Roche is believed to be one of the first 'Operators for the Teeth', men who fashioned themselves as specialists in dental work. Often these men were professional goldsmiths, ivory turners or students of barber-surgeons.

The first porcelain dentures were made around 1770 by Alexis Duchâteau. In 1791 the first British patent was granted to Nicholas Dubois De Chemant, previous assistant to Duchateau, for "De Chemant's Specification", "a composition for the purpose of making of artificial teeth either single double or in rows or in complete sets and also springs for fastening or affixing the same in a more easy and effectual manner than any hitherto discovered which said teeth may be made of any shade or colour, which they will retain for any length of time and will consequently more perfectly resemble the natural teeth." He began selling his wares in 1792 with most of his porcelain paste supplied by Wedgwood.

In London in 1820, Claudius Ash, a goldsmith by trade, began manufacturing high-quality porcelain dentures mounted on 18-carat gold plates. Later dentures were made of Vulcanite from the 1850s on, a form of hardened rubber (Claudius Ash’s company was the leading European manufacturer of dental Vulcanite) into which porcelain teeth were set, and then, in the 20th century, acrylic resin and other plastics. In Britain in 1968 79% of those aged 65–74 had no natural teeth, by 1998 this proportion had fallen to 36%.

Fabrication of complete dentures

Modern dentures are most often fabricated in a commercial Dental Laboratory using a combination of a tissue shaded powder polymethylmethacrylate acrylic for the tissue shaded aspect, and commercially produced acrylic teeth available in hundreds of shapes and tooth colors.

The process of fabricating a denture usually begins with a dental impression of the maxilla or mandible. This impression is used to create a stone model that represents the arch. A wax rim is fabricated to assist the dentist or denturist with establishing the vertical dimension of occlusion. After this a bite registration is created to marry the position of one arch to the other.

Once the relative position of each arch to the other is known, the wax rim can be used as a base to place the selected denture teeth in correct position. This arrangement of teeth is tried in to the mouth so that adjustments can be made to the Occlusion. After the occlusion has been verified by the doctor with the patient, and all phonetic requirements are met, the denture is processed.

Processing a denture is usually performed in a lost-wax process whereby the form of the final denture, including the acrylic denture teeth, is invested in stone. This investment is then heated, and the wax is removed through a sprue when it melts. The remaining cavity is then either filled by forced injection or pouring of the uncured denture acrylic. After a curing period, the stone investement is removed, the acrylic is polished, and the denture is complete.