Clinica Dental la Plaza

Teeth Cleaning and the 5 common mistakes ..

You cleaned your teeth this morning …..so are you sure they are really clean ? Its not really easy to see if you have done the job right as plaque is the same colour as the teeth and that is what you are trying to remove- plus you can only see the front teeth anyway.

Hopefully you are AWAKE and thinking clearly when you do them as that would help ! Plus …do you really want to breath stale smelly breath over the next person you meet today? I bet you answer no, so here are the 5 commons mistakes that people make…


⦁    Not brushing into the gums around the necks of the teeth. Avoiding the gums will prevent you from removing all the plaque since most of it is next to the gum and if left there it will eventually infect the gums causing gingivitis which make the gums bleed on brushing.- Gingivitis is the first stage of gum disease,when plaque penetrates the gum and it becomes inflamed because of it.

⦁    Not reaching the back far enough…its takes effort to think and reach right to the very back and once you are there you need to spend a bit more time on that area to be really thorough.

⦁    Not brushing the insides…this is really common as people seem to think the front of the teeth is most important….not true…also the angle of the brush needs to be adjust to effectively clean round the insides right to the back top and bottom.

⦁    Brushing too softly – people seems to be worried about ``harming the gums¨ which is silly as you do far more damage to gums by not cleaning properly ! Also some soft brushes are often too soft and not effective cleaners, whereas as hard brush bristles don`t bend around so well in between the teeth and brushing hard with these brushes is too hard on the gums. So, generally use a medium bristle small headed brush and with this you cannot go far wrong .

⦁    Not brushing or flossing between the teeth – many people think this is unimportant and too much bother but in truth it has increasing importance for adults ( not so for children)as the interdental spaces tend to widen as we age and therefore
hold more plaque which the toothbrush cannot reach in any case. This plaque left there can cause gum disease and gum pocketing and lead to cavities most of which start between the teeth anyway - If you don’t minibrush or floss then your mouth is only 60% clean                                           . 


In short …a quality medium small headed brush, vigorous, circular movements and a thorough job - a maximum clean in the morning with interproximal brushes and a second quicker clean at night.
We recommend electric brushes of course, especially Phillips sonicare.

Article by Dr.Karen Gardner at Clinica Dental La Plaza, Javea,  Tel 96 646 1120