[malc]

(11-08-2012 05:07 PM)DVY Wrote:  

Dentist disclaimer- Bleaching is horrible for your teeth. Basically, it creates microscopic holes in your teeth that allow the whitening agent to penetrate into the hard tissue. You are more suspectible to cavities and staining after you bleach than before.

That being said if you wish to bleach your teeth, I would add an anti-cavity home-care routine. Fluoride gel in mouthpiece trays 3x/week for 20 mins before sleeping should keep your teeth nice and healthy.

For all you who are lazy at flossing (myself included), get a waterpik. We recommend it to all patients who hate flossing, and its a must if you have extensive crown/bridge/implant work.

PS. DO NOT use abrasive regularly as a toothpaste. You will strip your enamel (and ultimately cause the underlying dentin which is yellow to show through more) and furthermore cause tissue trauma. Use only a soft T-brush to brush your teeth. What you want to keep in mind is that the brush should "touch" every surface of your tooth for 2 seconds. Brushing is the wrong description, its should be light pressure( buffing).

About the waterpik, I started using that after my dentist said I needed to floss more regularly to avoid more deep cleanings. The next cleaning, it was still a pretty tough cleaning, and he noticed I still didn't floss enough. I told him I used the waterpik and he said that those are not enough. After I started using the reach flosser, he said it pretty good the next cleaning and put me on a 6 month schedule.

Seriously guys, use the reach flosser if you hate flossing. It works properly and it's almost as good as a waterpik in connivence.

[DVY]

@malc- mechanical removal of food (aka brushing and flossing) is still #1. Waterpik is still great tho, especially for gum health and cleaning deeper pockets/bridges/implant crowns.

One issue w/the reach flosser is that you can't bend the floss to adapt it to the convex surfaces of the teeth. Teeth are rounded. The straight floss in the reach handle will not reach under the gumline without causing tissue trauma.

The back teeth have flatter contacts than the front teeth. Good compromise is to use the reach flosser in the back, and regular floss in the front. What you want to do is wrap the floss around the rounded tooth surface, and slowly lower it about 2-3mm under the gumline. This should NOT be painful. Do this on mesial(closer to midline) and distal(farther from midline) proximal surfaces of each tooth from canine to canine.

Technicality aside, your doing more than 90% of the population and will likely have better periodontal (gum) health along with reduced interproximal cavities. Keep it up!