How good is your brushing?
;)
;)
Going back to basics of sound dental hygiene.
Today, I hate my dentist. You might well ask, “Why hate the dentist?”
“Is it because you were subjected to indescribable pain, with exotic dentist’s implements or torture; the kind that would make a Russian interrogator blanch?”
“No.”
“Is it because, having completed said torture, you were charged extortionate amounts in fees that made you consider re-mortgaging your house?”
“No.”
The reason I hate my dentist today is much simpler. Today, my dentist made me feel stupid.
Now let me reassure you, my dentist was a perfectly lovely, careful and considerate professional. This is not a complaint about the slipping standards of the health system.
My feeling stupid, is a result of my own naiveté, so in fact, my hate should not be directed towards a perfectly innocent bystander, it should be directed at myself.
In truth, I am no stranger to being proven wrong and made to feel stupid. I have become well accustomed to the sinking feeling of a well constructed argument unravelling before my very eyes. However, it is a rare occasion these days where a core belief that I have held for many years, is shattered so totally.
Allow me to explain. Until today, I was under the delusion that brushing my teeth was something I had well and truly mastered. From the age of five, I have honed my technique to perfection.
I was an artisan of the brush stroke, a maestro of the small circular action.
How ridiculous did I feel then, when my dentist told me that the art I had practised for over two decades, was seriously flawed. Pretty ridiculous.
It is incredibly irritating when a fundamental belief is revealed to in fact be false. When Galileo’s theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun was finally accepted, people must have been pretty annoyed with themselves too.
I felt that I had been duped for all these years, and a fool for believing so ardently in my incorrect brushing technique.
What was I doing wrong? Simple – I was brushing badly. The phrase “brushing your teeth” is a flawed concept. For years I have been brushing my teeth; what I should have been doing was brushing my mouth.
Teeth are obviously important to oral hygiene, but the area most at risk to attack from bacteria, tartar and plaque is your gums. I was told to pay much more attention to the area where red meets white; where the tooth ends and the gums begin.
Negligence in gum brushing leads to a build-up of bacteria which causes the gums to bleed. I was always under the impression that bleeding gums was a sign of brushing too hard.
Gums bleeding was a signal to me, to avoid that area of the mouth and brush less vigorously next time.
My dentist put me straight – bleeding gums are a sign of gum disease. If your gums are bleeding, give those areas a good scrub, it’s where your toothbrush is needed most!
Finally, brush your tongue. The tongue holds a lot of bacteria which can spread to other parts of the mouth which is not healthy for your teeth. Suffering from bad breath? Your probably not brushing your tongue regularly enough.
I learned these lessons the hard way. My latest trip to the dentist has been both educational and painful. Do yourself a favour; brush your whole mouth properly.
Brush your teeth, brush your gums, and brush your tongue. It may seem obvious, but you would be surprised at the difference it makes to your mouth. If you are worried about your oral hygiene then get in touch with your local dentist or hygienist.
