Dry Brushing Teeth!

Toothsmith

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Where - details please as I have chronic periodontal disease

Then the last thing you should be doing is basing your home care on what is said in magazines. Base it on what your dentist/hygienist advises.

Incidentally there was a BBC lifestyle program last week that recommended rubbing lemons or lemon rind on the teeth to whiten them. If anyone saw that and thought it was a good idea DON'T!!!!!

I emailed the program and received an assurance yesterday that they would issue a warning next(this)week. Lemons are acidic and will errode tooth enamel VERY quickly.

Toothsmith

And finally.

Nile wrote:

..........but will you end up with teeth which look like the Queen Mother's did?:eek:

If I had all my own teeth at 104, I wouldn't give a monkeys what they looked like. HMQtQM is a great example of just how long teeth can last so long as you try and preserve what God gave you rather than B*gg*r about with it to make it look all Hollywood by encasing it in porcelain!

Teerah

Buttercup wrote:

I've just read that dry brushing teeth is 67 per cent more effective at cutting plaque than wet brushing and 50 per cent better at fighting gum disease!

This makes sense as the main use of toothpaste is really as a way to apply flouride to the teeth (to tackle decay) and give us a nice clean taste in our mouths. The brushing part is the really important part as far as the gums are concerned and is what keeps the gums nice and healthy so dry brushing may improve gum health, especially if it makes you brush for longer (for those of you who dislike the toothpaste frothing up!)

mini

I'm off to dry brush my teeth, I thought this thread was about the new product where you can brush your teeth anywhere, even on a station!

Lillibet_2

Brushing my teeth really mad me gag in early pregnancy & my dentist told me to dry brush for as long as necessary as it wouldn't hurt my dental hygine to give toothpaste a miss for a while, he never mentioned about doing it long term though?

Poppy9

I thought when you mentioned dry brushing you meant not putting water on your brush or toothpaste before using. My dentist had a poster up in his surgery telling you this.

Magazines can be a good source of info as I read in a magazine years ago that you shouldn't brush your teeth for one hour after eating as it pushes the food into the teeth. Asked my dentist and he confirmed he would recommend a minimum of 30 minutes wait. Thing is this does leave me a bit of a dilema sometimes at night if one of us have had a late snack. Should you just rinse your mouth out. chew a bit of dental gum and sleep or brush?

Toothsmith

Poppy9 wrote:

Thing is this does leave me a bit of a dilema sometimes at night if one of us have had a late snack. Should you just rinse your mouth out. chew a bit of dental gum and sleep or brush?

This is a dilemma!

The science here is that if you eat something either acidic or sugary your teeth are attacked and the surface layer softened. This softening can be repaired by the calcium in your saliva.

If you brush too soon after the snack/meal, the damaged softened surface of the tooth will be scrubbed away, and there will be nothing there for the calcium to repair. This will lead to a slow but irreverisble errosion over the long term.

If you chew gum, saliva will be stimulated and stimulated saliva has more calcium in it, so repair will be a little quicker (BTW, it needn't be 'dental gum' any sugar free one, particularly one containing sorbitol (eg Orbit) will do). You do need to chew for at least 20 mins though for a positive effect.

Rinsing out will not help much, unless you rinse with a fluoride mouthwash. But even this won't get rid of much debris. Beware of mouthwashes containing alcohol though, as these can be acidic, and damage the softened layer too. (A lot of mouthwashes have alcohol in them)

If you go to sleep without brushing your teeth, the debris will be feeding the bacteria all night (As salivary glands reduce production at night) and mega damage is done.

So to sum up. If you must have a snack just before bedtime, chew sugar free gum for twenty minutes, brush your teeth, and get into bed.

Or just wait 30 mins and brush your teeth

I'm afraid there is no safer short cut.

lipidicman

Toothsmith wrote:

Not actually true I'm afraid, despite them being the most expensive ones.

The ones that pulsate/oscillate have been shown to be the most effective in clinical trials. (eg Braun Oral B type) Braun only brought out an ultrasonic one to compete at the top end with Sonicare. Privately they admit that their cheaper pulsating/oscillating one is better.

Don't be confused by the fact that dentists and hygienists use ultrasonic devices. The power that ours generate is in a different league to the power generated by ultrasonic brushes.

Is this true, if so this is great. I got a pulsating oral B (the second in their range) with a free extra handle, and £10 off with a voucher in boots with loads of points (triple points day) - so a brush each cost me and my GF £10 each - a bargain! The only downside is we have to share the charger, but thats OK.

I find that the electric cleans your teeth but doesnt give that whole mouth fresh feeling you get with a manual, perhaps because the electric seems to make the toothpaste come pouring out of your mouth as you do the bottom teeth - i just cant move it around with my mouth closed!. So I like to alternate - mornings manual and nightime with the electric.

kingshir

I've read all the postings so is the point of the original posting that you just use a dry brush with no water or toothpaste? If so, is that what that dentist's poster said too?
Re Queen Mum's teeth - all old(er) seem to end up a greyish colour I've noticed!

Ticklemouse

A few years ago I started using a fluoride-free toothpaste and it was recommended that you dry-brushed (ie didn't wet the brush before using) and just used the mouth's own saliva. They also recommended expectorating but not rinsing as the toothpaste/saliva would carry on protecting your teeth. Took me about a week to get used to it, but it's second nature now and I have pearly whites. Years ago I had a friend who was a dental nurse and this was the info they gave their patients, even using normal fluoride toothpaste.