As a dental therapist here at Peelhouse Dental Care in Widnes, one of my roles is helping patients achieve a cleaner and healthier mouth! As with many aspects of dental care, prevention is key, making sure that your teeth are brushed and free from plaque before bed is very important!

Whilst I am talking about free from plaque let’s address something you may have read in the press recently! As Matt discussed in a recent blog, the press simply love to make controversial statements – remember they want us to buy their papers after all!

You may have seen headlines such as “Flossing your teeth does not work and could be a waste of time” (Independent Aug 2016); unfortunately the headline doesn’t tell the whole story!

A more accurate, but less attention grabbing headline, would have been “Cleaning in between your teeth is very important but little brushes are better than floss where the gaps are bigger!”

Here at Peelhouse Dental Care, as part of your hygiene session we will demonstrate how to use interdental brushes to remove plaque from in between your teeth. If the gaps in between your teeth won’t allow the brushes to pass through then we will show you how to use floss effectively as it is still better than using nothing at all!

As I mentioned earlier prevention is key – meticulously removing plaque from ALL surfaces of your teeth can help you avoid gum disease, also known as periodontal disease. Making sure you attend regularly for both dental health reviews and hygiene sessions will help you achieve a cleaner and healthier mouth.

By not cleaning in between your teeth 40% of the surfaces may be left with bacteria (plaque) on.

I often say to my patients “you wouldn’t have a shower and only clean your arms and leave your arm pits” similar with teeth cleaning don’t miss the in between parts!

One symptom of not being effective with your brushing can be a bad taste or bad breath, if you experience either and would like some help with improving the health of your mouth make an appointment with the hygiene team and we will be happy to help you!

My top tips for a healthier mouth:

• Have regular dental health reviews
• Visit the hygiene team regularly
• Brush all surfaces of your teeth last thing at night and on one other occasion
• Limit any sugar to meal times
• Don’t smoke

Hope you enjoyed my first blog – happy brushing!

Debs