In the mouth there are more than 700 species of bacteria, some protect us and others are harmful, they can cause gum inflammation, caries and other pathologies. The difference between bacteria protecting or damaging the oral cavity is due to the residues left in the mouth and their decomposition.
Our organism defends itself from these residues decomposed by bacteria with gum inflammation, bleeding and bad breath. It is not enough to brush the teeth after meals, since the residues filter through all available spaces, between molars, teeth, under crowns or rehabilitations such as bridges on implants.
Tips to improve oral hygiene
The use of mouthwashes is not recommended, as they mask the damage that can be done by residues that have not been removed. Bacteria need more than 24 hours of unremoved debris to attack that debris and break it down, so every 24 hours we should be very careful to thoroughly remove the debris with methods much more thorough than simple brushing. This includes interproximal cleaning methods, that is, between tooth and tooth. Floss, dental floss, interproximal brushes or oral irrigators can be used for this purpose. Electric toothbrushes sometimes do not reach hard-to-reach areas, so if they are used, it is also necessary to complete oral hygiene with interproximal methods.
Of the interproximal methods, floss is more effective in young people and should be used at least at night cleaning, before going to bed, when no more food is going to be ingested, for older people or with rehabilitations such as crowns, bridges or implants is more effective the oral irrigator because the pressurized water reaches deeper to difficult retention areas. It is important to place the tip always facing the roots, that is, at the top upwards and at the bottom downwards, always bordering the tooth and feeling the water pressure on the gums. The irrigator should have enough pressure to remove all food residues. On the other hand, the toothbrush should be changed every 2 months at the most, as well as the electric toothbrush heads.
These hygiene rules should be enough to have a correct maintenance of our mouth, keeping at bay the bacteria that become pathogenic.
In addition, it is recommended to visit the dentist every 6 months, in cases of gum problems, in order to assess the effectiveness of maintenance at home and see if it is necessary to perform gum treatments such as curettage of the areas of the mouth that are affected. In this way, we avoid all dental support diseases such as gingivitis, periodontitis, loss of healthy bone, and caries and, in the long term, we also prevent teeth from loosening and eventually losing them.