Do you use interdental brushes and floss before using your electric toothbrush?

[♥ Lily ♥]

I like to use TePe interdental brushes (from Sweden) and then Oral-B dental floss to clean inbetween my teeth each evening (I find tooth flossing therapeutic and relaxing to do in the evenings whilst listening to documentaries.

My teeth and breath always feel awesome immediately after flossing and using interdental brushes.

Then after cleaning between each tooth, I use my tongue cleaning tool and tongue cleaning gel.... followed by my Oral-B Genius electric toothbrush with 6 different brushing modes (including whitening, polishing, etc,) and links to an App on iPhone via bluetooth with colourful light indicators on my electric toothbrush that interacts with the presssure applied whilst cleaning amongst other functions.

I bought a limited edition 'Lotus' designed Genius electric toothbrush, (which has a beautiful dragonfly and flower design on the chargeable travelcase,) and I managed to find a new one from Amazon in the sales at £99 - which was a bargain as they're sold at £150 in Boots chemists.



I don't smoke (few people in the UK smoke,) I don't drink alcohol, I don't drink coffee, sugary acidic drinks, etc.... as all that's extremely bad for the health and causes damaged and discoloured teeth. Smokers, coffee drinkers, etc, have yellow and brown teeth.



I don't rinse the toothpaste from my teeth but leave it on my teeth after brushing to get the maximum protective and whitening effect from the toothpaste as my dental hygienist recommended doing .... rather like people don't rinse handcream off their hands after applying it to their skin in order to get the maximum effect.

Also my dental hygienist recommended not using mouthwash after brushing otherwise it rinses off the toothpaste from the teeth. She said that mouthwash is best used before brushing, or to use it twice during the day after meals (lunch and dinner,) and then to clean the teeth after breakfast in the morning and again in the evening.

I limit my sugar intake with main meals and always carry a small travel-sized mouthwash around with me at work to rinse my teeth and gums during the day. I shake my large bottle of mouthwash at home and then pour some into a small carry sized bottle to take to work during the day in my bag.

People who don't clean deep between their teeth are as unhygenic and dirty as people who don't wash their hands and use hand sanitiser after using the toilet... and they must have bad breath and a lot of gunk and plaque and tartar inbetween their teeth... which will lead to bleeding gums and gum disease. I wouldn't like to kiss a person who doesn't clean between their teeth as that's poor oral hygiene.




People who don't clean their tongue with a professional tongue cleaner each day risk bad breath as well as many health problems.



So to summarise:

- Moisten tongue with mouthwash or water and gently clean the tongue with a tongue cleaning tool and tongue cleaning gel. (I recommend DenTek Orabrushes and Tung gel.)

- Brush twice daily morning and evening (electric toothbrushes are proven to clean more thoroughly and much better than manual toothbrushes.)

- Clean inbetween the teeth at least once a day, (evening tiime is best when you're not in a hurry,) using tiny interdental brushes and floss. It's recommended by dental experts to clean inbetween the teeth before brushing in the evening, rather than after brushing. Dip the tiny interdental brushes into some toothpaste and gently brush inbetween the teeth.

- Leave the toothpaste on the teeth for maximum effect rather than rinsing it off with water. You can gently brush the toothpaste off your tongue with a wet toothbrush - but leave the toothpaste on the teeth. Don't use mouthwash after brushing the teeth otherwise the mouthwash will rinse off the toothpaste from your teeth. Gargle mouthwash and swish around the gums and teeth before brushing... or use it instead after lunch and dinner. Alcohol-free mouthwashes are best. Be wary of using Corsodyl mouthwash (a special mouthwash treatment for treating gum problems) as prolonged use of Corsodyl stains the teeth.

- Avoid sugary and acidic drinks and foods as much as possible. Try to limit sweet food portions to no more than twice a day. Use a straw to drink fruit juice to minimise the damaging effects of acid on the teeth - and swish the mouth with mouthwash afterwards to help neutralise the acids.

- It's best to eat sweet foods with or after a main meal to help neutralise the sugars... and it's better for the teeth to eat chocolates in one go rather than eating one chocolate from a box each hour and prolonging the sugar effect on the teeth. Acidic foods like fruits and tomatoes are best eaten with some cheese or yoghurt or milk to help neutralise the acids.

- Sugar-free chewing gum during the day helps to pick-up any tiny bits of lodged food in the teeth. Also chewing on gum helps to get the saliva flowing and it's also good exercise for keeping the jaws firm. It will also help to stop cravings for sweets. Nicotine gum will help smokers to stop smoking.

- Visit a dentist every 6 months for oral examinations of the teeth and gums to check for oral cancers, teeth and gum health, etc.

[Nurzat]

I don't clean my teeth. most Romanians actually don't brush their teeth. we are Europe's #1 at tooth decay, tooth loss and visible missing teeth

didn't you notice it on Romanians in UK how often they miss teeth? even young ones

[Prinses]

No I only use my electric toothbrush altho my dentist recommended me to floss my teeth as well

[farke1]

I do, but to be honest I don't use interdental brushes every single evening (although I know I probably should). I don't use a tongue cleaning tool or gel either but you've piqued my curiosity there - do you feel like it makes a noticeable difference to your oral health overall? I feel like my oral hygiene is "good", and I haven't ever needed work done at the dentist, aside from when I was 6 and chipped my tooth whilst falling down a flight of stairs (lol) - but there is always room for improvement.

Also, I think we have the same toothbrush. Is it the Oral-B 9000? If so, how often do you change the heads on it?

[Lucas]

I had only one tooth with caries (and it was when I was 18) which needed dental filling.
It is genetic apparently (when I was child I ate tons of sweet products) but intresting my parents have much more dental fillings.

[♥ Lily ♥]

No I only use my electric toothbrush altho my dentist recommended me to floss my teeth as well

It's vital to floss and use interdental brushes before brushing the surface area of your teeth.

It's like a rock at sea;- the seawater will wash the surface of the rock... but it won't clean between the crevices of the rock.

If you don't clean the tiny triangular part between each tooth with an interdental brush and then floss in the parts between each tooth that an interdental brush (even the smallest sized one) can't reach, then the areas between your teeth will develop plaque, tartar, cavities, gum sensitivity and bleeding, pain, and eventual tooth loss. Prevention is always better than cure.

Also if you don't clean between the teeth it will cause bad breath.

No electric toothbrush (no matter how advanced) is able to reach the tiny little areas between each tooth... and no electric flosser can do the job either according to dental experts. The only way is to manually clean between the teeth before using an electric toothbrush.

I recommend you see this short and educational video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9l5CaXvsG0

TePe brushes are award-winning interdental brushes from Sweden. They come in a range of sizes as people usually require more than one size to reach inbetween the different teeth. They're also very easy to use. I recommend these, along with easy to hold mint flossers (example below) to get that lovely clean feeling between each tooth.

[♥ Lily ♥]

I do, but to be honest I don't use interdental brushes every single evening (although I know I probably should). I don't use a tongue cleaning tool or gel either but you've piqued my curiosity there - do you feel like it makes a noticeable difference to your oral health overall? I feel like my oral hygiene is "good", and I haven't ever needed work done at the dentist, aside from when I was 6 and chipped my tooth whilst falling down a flight of stairs (lol) - but there is always room for improvement.

Also, I think we have the same toothbrush. Is it the Oral-B 9000? If so, how often do you change the heads on it?

If you don't clean your tongue each morning and evening, then you'll risk bad breath from all the bacteria that builds-up on the tongue. . https://www.123dentist.com/cleaning-your-tongue/

It's so easy to do and only takes a few seconds.

I use the DenTek Orabrush tongue cleaning brush which is lovely and soft and it's also very popular. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use Tung (tongue cleaning gel) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which you just squirt on the tongue cleaning brush before applying it to your tongue. Some people clean their tongue with just the brush, but I find it makes your tongue feel even nicer when used with the tongue cleaning gel.

You have to be careful not to press too hard or you can damage the senses in your tongue....but when used gently morning and evening, it makes your tongue feel lovely and food tastes nicer too. I keep a few spare ones too, ready to replace every 3 months.




Cleaning the tongue is shown to prevent health problems too.

I have the Oral-B Genius 9000 Electric Toothbrush. The various brush-heads have a blue colour to them which fades halfway down the brush when the brush needs replacing (usually every 3 months... or sooner if the brush head is dropped or splayed.) All the advice on the brush heads is shown in the instruction booklet that comes inside the packaging box.

[♥ Lily ♥]

I don't clean my teeth. most Romanians actually don't brush their teeth. we are Europe's #1 at tooth decay, tooth loss and visible missing teeth

didn't you notice it on Romanians in UK how often they miss teeth? even young ones

I find it difficult to believe that the people there never clean their teeth.... otherwise they would be in a lot of pain, wouldn't be able to eat, kiss, etc. I could imagine this amongt people in third world countries with no access to dental care and hygiene knowledge and having no access to all the products available to people living in developed nations... but not for people living in Europe.

However I've noticed that a lot Eastern European nations have a high rate of smokers (chimneys.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ion_per_capita

Smoking causes very bad breath, receding and bleeding gums, bad skin, smelly hair and clothes, discoloured nails and yellow teeth.

It's easy for people to quit with all the modern 21st century products and help available to smokers.

[16coresCasual]

I use a thing called water flosser. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+flo...f=nb_sb_noss_1 ; https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...osser&_sacat=0

[farke1]

If you don't clean your tongue each morning and evening, then you'll risk bad breath from all the bacteria that builds-up on the tongue. . https://www.123dentist.com/cleaning-your-tongue/

It's so easy to do and only takes a few seconds.

I use the DenTek Orabrush tongue cleaning brush which is lovely and soft and it's also very popular. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use Tung (tongue cleaning gel) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which you just squirt on the tongue cleaning brush before applying it to your tongue. Some people clean their tongue with just the brush, but I find it makes your tongue feel even nicer when used with the tongue cleaning gel.

You have to be careful not to press too hard or you can damage the senses in your tongue....but when used gently morning and evening, it makes your tongue feel lovely and food tastes nicer too. I keep a few spare ones too, ready to replace every 3 months.




Cleaning the tongue is shown to prevent health problems too.

I have the Oral-B Genius 9000 Electric Toothbrush. The various brush-heads have a blue colour to them which fades halfway down the brush when the brush needs replacing (usually every 3 months... or sooner if the brush head is dropped or splayed.) All the advice on the brush heads is shown in the instruction booklet that comes inside the packaging box.

Thanks, some great tips there I do brush my tongue twice a day, it feels dirty if I don't - however I've just been using my toothbrush to do that, which, after reading your post I suppose only makes my tongue "feel" clean and doesn't actually clean it adequately. I'll order one of those DenTek brushes (and some of that gel, so I can test the difference with and without) and see how much of a difference it makes.

And sorry, I didn't see that you updated your post with the toothbrush information. The reason why I asked about the brush heads is because I feel like mine wear down sooner than the four months of recommended usage that the manufacturers recommend, and I wondered if that's a problem you've also experienced. I've actually got a dental appointment scheduled for Friday so all this information is very useful to me. Thanks for posting