Questions about dental care routine

[TeaMatcha]

I have some questions in mind..

I brush about 4 times a day. One before breakfast, second will be 30mins after breakfast, third will will 30mins after lunch and last will be before bed. Understand that people usually only brush twice a day but I have bad teeth in general (deep groove on all molar) so I really try my best to prevent cavity as I had enough of major dental work. I floss, waterpik, clean my tongue, leave on toothpaste on teeth for few mins before rinsing it off and lastly mouthwash on a daily basis. Went regularly for cleaning too but still I got most dental work done among my peeps.

How do you guys care for your dental hygiene? Please share your thoughts!

I have really bad oral hygiene since young. My family can't afford going to dentist, I snacks on icecream and candy a lot and didn't floss till I got my braces 3 years back. My gum was a mess before braces.

Now, most dentist and endodontis I went to told me that I have good oral hygiene yet I still don't get it why I get decay under old filling or why i seems to get cavity easily on my molar more than others.

 

[Judythecat]

My understanding is that the frequency of eating is really important because that’s when teeth are “under attack”. So if you are going to have sweets, for example, have them after lunch and not separately. Here in the U.K. it is common to have a short break at work with a snack/cup of tea mid-morning and mid-afternoon, which is probably not very good for teeth. (I think it’s a throwback from school playtimes!)

You sound like you have a very thorough routine! I do:

Morning - tepe brush, floss, rinse with mouthwash, brush with electric Oral B.
After evening meal - tepe brush, floss, rinse with mouthwash.
Before bed - brush.

I never rinse after brushing.

I do keep tepe brushes and mouthwash in my desk drawer at work, but generally just have 30 minutes between classes for lunch, and only use them if I have eaten something garlicky so I don’t breathe it all over my students.

 

[Enarete]

I do not think you can protect your teeth more by brushing 4 times, on the contrary - brushing too frequently can lead to damage due to abrasion and has hardly any additional benefit. If you need special protection for any reason, your dentist would recommend a special toothpaste with higher fluorid amount. As @Judythecat mentioned, diet and frequency of eating is much more important when it comes to tooth decay. Decay needs time to develop and it's the bacteria from plaque that cause it. This bacteria need time to develop too so brushing twice a day is enough.

Have you seen the articles about how to prevent gum problems , how to prevent tooth decay and how to prevent acid damage?

 

[TeaMatcha]

I do not think you can protect your teeth more by brushing 4 times, on the contrary - brushing too frequently can lead to damage due to abrasion and has hardly any additional benefit. If you need special protection for any reason, your dentist would recommend a special toothpaste with higher fluorid amount. As @Judythecat mentioned, diet and frequency of eating is much more important when it comes to tooth decay. Decay needs time to develop and it's the bacteria from plaque that cause it. This bacteria need time to develop too so brushing twice a day is enough.

Have you seen the articles about how to prevent gum problems , how to prevent tooth decay and how to prevent acid damage?

Thank you for your reply. So brushing after every meal is unnecessary?

I don't snacks at all. I eat three times a day and only drink or eat anything together with my meal.

I'm really confuse sorry about that. I understand that brushing too hard and too much is bad for the gum and enamel.

Maybe just flossing and using mouthwash after meal is fine? ?

Thank you!!

 

[Gordon]

Bin the mouthwash Doesn't do anything useful.