Preventive Care

  • Introduction
  • Check up
  • Oral hygiene care
  • Fluoride
  • Sealant
  • Laughing Gas Sedation

Oral hygiene care

  • Brushing thoroughly, twice a day, should be the last thing you do at night and at least one other time during the day.
  • Clean between the teeth with “interdental” brushes or floss at least once a day.
  • Eat a balanced diet and limit snacks between meals.
  • Using dental products that contain fluoride, including toothpaste, and consider fluoride application in the case of children under 12 or adults with potential dental caries forming.
  • Regular dental check-ups.

Tools:

   1) Tooth brush
  • A soft tooth brush is recommended.
  • For the front of your front teeth, angle your brush at about 45 degrees and brush in small circular motions. This will also massage your gums while removing plaque.
  • For the back of your front teeth, hold your brush vertically and brush up and down ensuring you brush your gums as well as your tooth surface. Brush each tooth individually.
  • For your back teeth use a horizontal forward and back motion across the top of your teeth, this will help the bristles get into the deep grooves. Then tilt your brush to 45 degrees – like for your front teeth – and brush the outside and inside of your back teeth and gums.
  • A thorough brushing routine should take between 2 – 3 minutes.
   2) Dental floss

Cleaning in between your teeth removes plaque and bits of food from between your teeth and under your gum line - areas a toothbrush can't reach. When flossing or using interdental brushes, keep to a regular pattern and remember not to miss any teeth. It helps to look in the mirror. It is also very important to clean around the edges of any crowns, bridges, or implants. You should clean between your teeth at least once a day.

  • Break off about 45 centimeters (18 inches) of floss, and wind some around one finger of each hand.
  • Hold the floss tightly between your thumbs and forefingers, with about an inch of floss between them, leaving no slack. Use a gentle “rocking” motion to guide the floss between your teeth. Do not jerk the floss or snap the floss into the gums.
  • When the floss reaches your gum line, curve it into a C-shape against one tooth until you feel resistance.
  • Hold the floss against the tooth. Gently scrape the side of the tooth, moving the floss away from the gum. Repeat on the other side of the gap, along the side of the next tooth.
  • Don't forget the back of your last tooth. Again, keep to a regular pattern. Start at the top and work from left to right, then move to the bottom and again work from the left to right. This way you're less likely to miss any teeth.
   3) Interdental brush

Interdental brushes serve as an alternative to flossing; they can be used daily and can be more effective for interproximal plaque removal than floss as suggested by a number of studies. Interdental brushes, depending on their size and shape as well as the surfaces of the teeth, can prove to be effective tools for reducing interproximal plaque.

   4) Oral irrigators

Oral irrigators use a stream or jet of water to remove plaque and bits of food from around your teeth or an orthodontic appliance (“brace”). Oral irrigators might also be recommended for:

  • a fixed bridge that is difficult to clean.
  • crooked teeth.
  • if you find it difficult to use interdental brushes or floss.