Dental Hygiene
Without good dental care, orthodontic treatment does not make sense. What is the use of straight, but stained or caries damaged teeth? Dental hygiene is crucial to the success of the treatment, especially with fixed appliances! For this reason, teaching our patients how to perfectly take care of their teeth is an important part of our daily work. We show our patients the Bass-technique, a method recommended by oral hygiene experts worldwide.
- The basic position of the tooth brush is half on the tooth, half on the gum (half red, half white). The bristles form a 45 degree angle against the tooth axis, in the upper jaw they are inclined up-wards, and in the lower jaw they are inclined downwards. This is the best way to reach the problem area – the red-white-boundary or the gum line.
- The cleaning of the teeth is executed wiggling the brush in one place with gentle (!) pressure. This allows the bristle tips to slide into the interdental space and the flat deepening of the gum line. Large wipe or circle movements only allow a superficial cleaning.
- It is important to get used to a systematic brushing order. For example, in the upper jaw first the chewing surface, then the outer aspects, and then the inner aspects of the teeth, followed by the same order in the lower jaw, always moving from tooth to tooth. Only like this, you make sure not to leave out some teeth as a matter of routine.
With the Bass-technique it is possible to clean all teeth within three minutes. You normally should not brush longer than that. Thus, it is unnecessary to brush as thorough three times a day. After breakfast and lunch, a superficial cleaning is appropriate. You should invest the full three minutes at night.
Toothbrushes
Manual brushes: We recommend using short-head brushes with soft to medium bristles and not to use them longer than eight weeks.
Electric brushes: the superior models really clean a little better than the manual brushes. However, the differences are not as big as to recommend electric brushes in general. After all, the cleaning effect depends on the brushing technique and in particular the duration. Just like with manual brushes, you should not use hard bristles and make sure you exchange the head every 8 weeks.
Interdental Hygiene
Every child knows that a toothbrush is necessary to keep the teeth healthy. But sometimes even adults do not realize that cleaning between the teeth is just as necessary. Floss or interdental brushes are no luxury for fanatics, but tools as basic as the toothbrush. Without suitable instruments for interdental cleaning, you cannot keep your teeth and gum healthy: not only caries but also periodontitis develop, if the interdental space is constantly filled with bacterial plaque. Using floss or small interdental brushes should by all means be demonstrated by trained assistants in the office for wrong use does not lead to a good cleaning effect but might even cause damages to the teeth.
