The Best Home Dental Care Tools Recommended By Dentists
In most cases, banishing bad breath means improving oral hygiene; notable exceptions to this are breath problems caused by medical conditions, medications, tobacco usage or dietary habits.
The most basic element in practicing good dental hygiene is the toothbrush. Toothbrushes have been in use for decades. Although the first products that our ancestors used years ago are not much different from the basic toothbrush that we have now, today’s toothbrushes are much more effective in cleaning the teeth. Technology has also paved the way for the creation of more complex devices such as electric toothbrushes, mechanized tongue cleaners and dozens of toothpastes and mouthwashes that can help get rid of bad breath in a flash.
Fifty years ago, the electric toothbrush was first introduced to the public. The main improvement of this innovation over the traditional manual toothbrush was that it could make much more brush strokes than the manual brush. In fact, the first models were able to make about 5,000 brush stokes per minute, compared to the measly 250 to 300 strokes that an average person can do with a manual toothbrush.
With this very high speed, food particles that are otherwise left stuck in between the teeth and the gums are easily dislodged and cleaned out. The improvement is astonishing, but manufacturers were certainly not satisfied. Today, there are some electric toothbrushes that can reach speeds of more than 30,000 strokes per minute. These more powerful devices allow you to spend less time brushing while leaving your mouth more squeaky-clean than ever.
No matter how marvelous the performance of your toothbrush is, there will always be spots in your mouth that will remain out of reach. This is where the dental floss comes in. These thread-like implements are very useful in scraping films of food and plaque that tend to build in the spaces between the teeth where the toothbrush can’t reach. Many brands of dental floss are available in drug stores all over the country. Some are flavored, some are extra thin, some even come with holders that make them easier to use especially for children.
Most people either overlook cleaning their tongue or they just don’t know about it. However, scraping or brushing the bacteria and residue from food and drink off your tongue is one of the most effective oral hygiene treatments for halitosis. There are several different designs of tongue cleaners available beginning with your own toothbrush. Specialized tongue brushes and tongue scrapers do a better job than a toothbrush.
Many people actually don’t realize that cleaning the tongue is one of the most effective ways of keeping bad breath away. If you look at your tongue in the mirror, you will probably see a white or yellowish film towards the back. This is the food and bacteria that can lead to the bad breath, unless you take steps to remove it using a tongue cleaner. You might start to gag the first time you do it but eventually, you will learn to control this reflex. Ideally, you should clean your tongue at least twice a day, or after each time you brush your teeth.
If tongue brushing or scraping doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you want to do, check out one of the flavored, antibacterial tongue sprays on the market.
Another very popular product for maintaining the freshness of your breath is the mouthwash. Hundreds of mouthwashes are commercially available, and these come in all sorts of flavors. While most of them can give you instant fresh breath, mouthwashes do not really offer a long-term solution for bad breath.
In addition, a lot of the mouthwash brands today contain alcohol, and this can actually exacerbate the problem. It may freshen up your breath at first but in time, the alcohol in the mouthwash will dry up the inside of your mouth, allowing the nasty-smelling bacteria to thrive freely in your mouth.
Next time you go to buy mouthwash (and if you have a bad breath problem and use an alcohol-based mouthwash), check the labels on the mouthwashes and look for “chlorine dioxide” or “stabilized chlorine dioxide.” Mouthwashes with chlorine dioxide or stabilized chlorine dioxide actually attack that sulfurous, ‘rotten egg’ smell that oral bacteria leaves behind and won’t dry out your mouth.
Finally, there is the toothpaste. Toothpastes are generally used as a cleaning agent for the teeth. Some of them also leave a very thin protective layer over the teeth to prevent decay and cavities. Most of them also have mint or menthol flavors to aid in keeping the breath fresh.
The best tool for managing your breath is a regular, twice daily oral hygiene ritual that consists of all the brushing, scraping and rinsing described above. Add to that a balanced diet and drinking lots of water and your breath should be much less of a problem.
