Dentists please advise...how to minimise tartar?

shandyclover

Hubby seems to have a problem with excess tartar needing frequent trips to the dentist for a de scaling. He has just been 2 mos ago and looks like we need to book him in again. We live in Ireland which does not have NHS dentists - so it's quite costly.

Neither of us smoke and drink only very occasionally but he seems to have alot more problems in this area than I do, even though he brushes very regularly and is quite fastiduious about oral hygiene. Is there anything he can do to avoid having to make so many dentist visits?

brook2jack

Floss,perhaps try tepe brushes, use disclosing tablets , perhaps use a smaller toothbrush and ask the hygienist to check his technique with his own toothbrush when he next visits.

Toothsmith

Many people can be in the bathroom for ages brushing away, and still be inneffective.

Toothbrushing is just one of those things we're all supposed to know how to do, but no-one has ever really shown us how to do it.

I would agree with Brook, get the hygienist to watch how he does it, and take it from there even if that meant an extra and seperate appointment from the actual clean-up itself.

A decent electric toohbrush might help matters too, if he's not already got one. Something from the Oral B range at about £25-£35 (or whatever that is in Euros)

flashnazia

Toothsmith wrote: »

Many people can be in the bathroom for ages brushing away, and still be inneffective.

Toothbrushing is just one of those things we're all supposed to know how to do, but no-one has ever really shown us how to do it.

I would agree with Brook, get the hygienist to watch how he does it, and take it from there even if that meant an extra and seperate appointment from the actual clean-up itself.

A decent electric toohbrush might help matters too, if he's not already got one. Something from the Oral B range at about £25-£35 (or whatever that is in Euros)

I'm not a dentist but oral b electric is quite good. It rotates and is quite good for getting into the 'nooks and crannies'.

Btw Toothsmith, I've been meaning to thank you for recommending the oral b pro 1000 a few months back. I got it for the OH's birthday and his teeth look much better. I also have a go now and then and it feels so invigorating! Thanks again.

I paid about £30.

BlondeHeadOn

How about trying an ionic toothbrush, these work for me. You can buy them on Ebay, Amazon, or from health stores, they are only about £12-£15, much cheaper then a leccy or sonic one. Just google 'Ionic Toothbrush' for more information.

You use them just like an ordinary toothbrush apart from having to have a wet finger (the instructions will explain it!), but they are brilliant at getting rid of tartar - it's what they are designed to do.

I used to have loads of problems with tartar but have had none since buying one of these toothbrushes, so definitely worth a try?

MrsAtobe

This may sound like a daft question, but does he use a tartar control toothpaste? I used to have dreadful build up, but since switching, the problem has now become staining . Might be worth seeing if the hygienist can give him some samples?

McKneff

Is there any difference between the Oral B ordinary elec. toothbrushes and Sonic ones pleas.

Toothsmith

There is a huge thread on leccy toothbrushes somewhere.

My advice remains as above. For effectiveness and vaue for money, an Oral B at the cheaper end of their spectrum (and changing the head every couple of months) is best.

Sonic toothbrushes (that are effective) are quite a bit dearer and the heads are much more expensive to replace (I know there are cheaper 'sonic' brushes but I doubt they're effective) I'm also not a fan of 'ionic' toothbrushes.

brook2jack

Just to clarify you don't need a toothbrush to remove tartar (it's so hard a toothbrush won't do much) you need a toothbrush to remove plaque effectively. If you get rid of the plaque you won't get tartar. Plaque is soft and easily removed.

Tartar is formed when plaque is left undisturbed on a tooth for an average of 48 to 76 plus hours. Disturb the plaque, remove it and tartar can't form.

shandyclover

Thanks for all the feedback - definitely some things we can at least try. He does have an Oral B leccy brush (I know I bought it for him) but he's fallen out of the habbit of using it in favor of his regular one. Maybe its just a matter of resurecting leccy. Good point about getting the hygienist to watch his toothbrushing method. I have an Oral B sonic - not sure its any better than hubbys. I will try an ionic just to see how it does - seems you can get them off amazon at the moment for about 10 pounds. Any recommendations of a tartar control toothpaste? I did go into boots to find one but gave up after a few minutes as I couldnt find one. He gets the tartar in the same place everytime so obvious like brooktojack said just missing that spot.

BlondeHeadOn

shandyclover wrote: »

Thanks for all the feedback - definitely some things we can at least try. He does have an Oral B leccy brush (I know I bought it for him) but he's fallen out of the habbit of using it in favor of his regular one. Maybe its just a matter of resurecting leccy. Good point about getting the hygienist to watch his toothbrushing method. I have an Oral B sonic - not sure its any better than hubbys. I will try an ionic just to see how it does - seems you can get them off amazon at the moment for about 10 pounds. Any recommendations of a tartar control toothpaste? I did go into boots to find one but gave up after a few minutes as I couldnt find one. He gets the tartar in the same place everytime so obvious like brooktojack said just missing that spot.

If you are buying an ionic toothbrush, DO NOT also buy a tarter/plaque control toothpaste - they seem to cancel each other out, and you get a rubbish clean! Just use your ordinary toothpaste with the ionic toothbrush.

I don't know the science of it, but the idea of the ionic toothbrush is to charge the particles of plaque so that they are repelled by the tooth. From what I've read the plaque control toothpaste is trying to do the same thing - and the result is that neither works properly when they are used together!

I tried a plaque control toothpaste with my ionic brush, and the results were so much worse than when I use my ordinary toothpaste with my ionic brush - I ended up with a mouth of foam and my teeth still felt uncleaned. The special toothpaste cost me a fortune as well, and tastes horrible and was a waste of money.

Try the ionic toothbrush on it's own, or with ordinary toothpaste - I think you might be pleasantly surprised by the results.