Tag: flossing

Blog posts, information and advice which mention Flossing

Survey reveals that 72% of men have used their female partner’s toothbrush

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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AID-100116377 by imagerymajesticccording to a new survey women change their toothbrush twice as often as men. The survey showed that, on average, women change their toothbrush every 92 days whilst men change theirs every 185 days.

The survey was carried out by Carisbrook dental in Manchester which asked 1000 patients about their oral health habits.”

“All our research shows that women take dental health far more seriously than men,”

Dr Tariq Idrees owner of Carisbrook dental said,

“Throwing your toothbrush out after three months might seem like a short time, but think of the germs, viruses and bacteria it is exposed to daily; new toothbrushes have been developed where the bristles change colour when they wear one out providing an immediate reminder of when to getting new one.”

change your toothbrush after you have been ill

According to the survey electric toothbrushes are used by 57% of women and 32% of men. Another interesting fact was that women spend on average £42 per year on the dental healthcare, whilst men spend only £24 a year on the same dental healthcare including brushes, toothpaste  and other products such as mouthwash.

The survey also revealed that 7/10 men (72%) have used their female partners toothbrush whilst only 26% of women admitted to using their male partner’s brush.

“Women spend twice as much on their teeth and tend to have much healthier teeth and gums. They are almost 5 times more likely to have cosmetic procedures such as teeth whitening.” Said Dr Tariq Idrees

At Blue Court Dental Centre in Harrow we have similar experience of women taking more care of their dental health than men. If you don’t look after your toothbrush then the bristles can become bent and frayed, this means they are not able to clean in between your teeth in those difficult to reach areas where the acid excreting bacteria lurk.

The spaces in between your teeth are particularly vulnerable to dental decay and if these areas are not kept clean on a daily basis your oral health care can suffer.

We have also written in other blog posts about the further implications of not looking after your teeth and gums. Dental disease has been linked to other conditions such as diabetes and heart problems.

Using an electric toothbrush makes it far easier to ensure that your teeth are adequately cleaned and rinsing in between cleaning your teeth, particularly after meals with a good quality fluoride mouthwash is another step you can take to ensure your teeth stay dentally fit and healthy for life.

If you are at all concerned about you or your partner’s oral health then please do give us a call or request an appointment online.

Image courtesy of ImageryMajestic @ freedigitalphotos.net

Tips for better oral health

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

Latest posts by Dr Nishan Dixit (see all)

How to Look After Your Teeth

There are lots of things you can do to maintain your dental health and achieve a fresh and attractive smile.  Here are a few top tips to get you going….

01 Brush your teeth at least twice a day.  When you brush, don’t rush.  Take enough time to do  a thorough job – two minutes is recommended.

02 Use toothpaste that contains flouride to help prevent cavities.

03 Consider using an electric or battery-operated tooth brush, especially if you have arthritis or other problems that make it difficult to brush effectively.

04 Practice good technique.  Hold your toothbrush at a slight angle against your teeth and brush with short back-and-forth motions.  Remember to brush the inside and chewing surfaces of your teeth, as well as your tongue.  Avoid vigorous or harsh scrubbing, which can irritate your gums.

05 Know when to replace your toothbrush.  Invest in a new toothbrush or a replacement head for your electric toothbrush every two to three months – or sooner if the bristles become frayed.

06 Cleaning between the teeth at least once a day is important as it removes food and plaque from between the teeth where even the best toothbrush can be ineffective.  For most people, doing this once a day is enough and the best time to do it is after your last meal of the day.  Clean between your teeth before or after brushing, but rinse your mouth afterward to wash out everything that has been dislodged.

07 Brush your tongue as well as your teeth to help eliminate mouth-borne bacteria and to keep your mouth and breath fresh.

08 A mouthwash can help with oral health.  Mouthwashes with alcohol can dry out the mouth, so try to use brands that contain no alcohol.

09 Always wait 20-30 minutes before you brush your teeth after eating or drinking acidic food or drink, such as oranges, as this can erode the enamel on your teeth.

10 Avoid eating too much sugar and drinking sugary drinks such as soda, sweetened teas, or fruit juices, particularly in between  meals.

11 Nuts, dairy foods such as cheese, and meats are all good dietry choices that can help strengthen enamel because of the calcium and vitamins they provide.

12 Chewing sugarless gum after a meal is a good way to substitute brushing inbetween meals; it can help remove food particles for between the teeth and produces saliva which counteract the bacteria.

13 Make sure you visit your dentist every six months and a hygienist visit to look after your teeth and gums.

14 If you have a toothache, it is important to seek  emergency dental care immediately as this could be a potential infection or abcess.

Do you brush ‘Gangnam Style’?

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

Latest posts by Dr Nishan Dixit (see all)

Could brushing your teeth to the beat of ‘Gangnam Style’ really have oral health care advantages?

We’re always on the lookout for new and inventive ways to help you keep your oral hygiene up to the high level you’d like. We’ve seen egg timers with a ‘Tooth Brush’ countdown on them and most modern electric tooth brushes also include some form of indicator as to how well/long you are brushing – but now we bring you the ‘Gangnam Style’ technique!

Reported in the Daily Mail last week is a new equation, worked out by Ivor Novello nominee Jim Williams. He indicates that songs that have eight bars of music, followed by another two sets of four bars can encourage brushing.

They must also include a double chorus and middle ‘bridging’ section, known as a double eight.

Jim Williams went on to identify a series of songs that fulfilled this criteria with PSY’s Gangnam Style coming out on top. Dental expert, Tina Tanna, who worked with Aquafresh to create the brushing technique, said: ‘Children must brush at least 35 times on each side of the mouth – using seven strokes in five areas – to ensure their teeth and gums stay healthy.’

Using a song to help keep time is a great idea we think – it helps to keep the correct pace and will encourage kids to have some fun whilst brushing helping them maintain a good health care routine.

So, tooth brushes at the ready… give it a go…

Blue Court Dental Care is a dentist in Harrow offering oral health care advice and treatments to the local people. Please do call us or pop in if you have any dental health concerns.

Toothpicks and Keeping your Teeth Clean

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

Latest posts by Dr Nishan Dixit (see all)

There was a recent case reported in the British Medical Journal in which a woman swallowed a toothpick which went on to cause some quite serious further medical and health problems for her. This was also reported on the BBC, you can read the full BBC report here.

Clearly this woman was trying to clean her teeth with a toothpick, so we thought it would be a good idea to go through how to keep your teeth clean and hopefully avoid such accidents in the future!

You oral healthcare regime should include brushing, flossing and rinsing.

Teaching the people of Harrow how to brush.

  • Using an electric toothbrush is the best way to brush your teeth as they are designed to have the perfect action. If you use a manual brushing technique use a small brush and work in a circular motion.
  • Decide on a sequence to brushing your teeth and stick with it each day, ensuring that you brush the biting surface or tips of your teeth, the inside and then the outside.
  • Move around the sequence tooth by tooth. Avoid pressing too hard, but make sure you clean adequately. This is where an electric toothbrush will help as many of the better models have pressure sensors.
  • Ensure that you clean around the entire tooth surface right the way from the inside, over the top and down the front of the tooth including the junction between your tooth and the gum.

Top tips for flossing your teeth.

  • Floss daily between your teeth, this ensures that any debris is cleaned on the surfaces between your teeth which is so difficult to reach with a toothbrush.
  • Use a fairly long length of floss, about 30 cm. Wind the ends around your index fingers on each hand and pull floss taught.
  • You can then gently pop floss between each of your teeth each time winding it a small amount along on each finger.
  • Gently move the floss up and down against the back of one tooth and then the front of the next, pop floss back up again, and move along to the next tooth.

Rinsing with mouthwash.

Even with an electric toothbrush and flossing there may be small areas that you miss, so using a good-quality fluoride mouthwash will help you to rinse out any areas of debris that you have missed.
Rinse with mouthwash after every time you brush your teeth, both morning and night.
Our dental practice in Harrow also has a dental health educator known as a Dental Hygienist, this person is specially trained to help you look after your teeth and help you with your oral health plan. Looking after your teeth is the best way to spend as little time and money at the dentist as possible, so it’s a worthwhile investment in yourself.