According to dentists, it's not enough to clean your teeth with a toothbrush on a daily basis. Ideal dental cleaning programme to "mix and match", for people with periodontal disease, there are generally four programmes: in the daily brushing of the teeth on the basis of the use of dental floss, interdental brushes, toothpicks, as well as commonly known as the "water floss" pulsed water rinser of the four methods, respectively. At the same time, every six months to a year should go to the hospital clinic cleaning.

Which shape of floss should I choose?

Currently on the market there are flat, round and other floss, there are wrapped in the roller on the box hand-pulled floss, there is also a rod-shaped arch-shaped floss. Of these, flat floss with wax is the most effective. Hand-pulled floss needs to be pulled out 30~40cm each time, the advantage is that it can clean the teeth from multiple angles, and the cleaning effect is the most ideal, but it needs many times of practice to master it.

The advantage of the rod-shaped arch floss is portable, quick to start, but due to the fixed angle, cleaning the back teeth when the operation is not convenient, not very easy to put parallel to the surface of the teeth, barely down to the card, it is easy to damage the gums, the cleaning effect is also not good.

Compared with round floss, flat floss with wax can form a better contact surface when surrounding the neighbouring surfaces, and the cleaning effect is better.

Can children floss?

Children can floss with the help of their parents. Flossing is especially important during the teething period, when teeth can easily become lodged and plaque can develop.

Will an interdental brush make the gaps in my teeth bigger?

No, it won't. Should be based on the size of the gap to choose the appropriate brush head, many people are worried that the use of interdental brushes will cause bleeding gums, resulting in further recession of the gums. In fact, this is too much to worry about, bleeding gums indicate that the gums themselves have inflammation, can not be attributed to the gap brush.

Brush your teeth at least twice a day with an interdental brush.

Do I still need to floss?

No, you don't have to. Flossing is not really necessary where inter-dental brushing can be used. If the gums on the neighbouring side are intact and the gap is not large enough to accommodate an interdental brush, then flossing is still the most effective cleaning tool.

Can water flossing replace regular flossing or interdental brushing?

There is a difference in cleaning efficiency and water flossing cannot completely replace regular flossing. Because water flossing relies on a pulsating water stream to clean, it can remove food, soft tartar, and so on from the wider neighbouring spaces. In the case of gums did not recede, the gap is not exposed, the water flow also has no way to penetrate the gap, while the floss can surround the entire neighbourhood for cleaning, so the cleaning efficiency of the water floss is certainly not as good as ordinary floss.

Electric toothbrush is better than manual brushing?

As long as they are used correctly, there is not much difference between the two. The effectiveness of an electric toothbrush is not much different from manually using the pasteurised brushing method. How long you brush your teeth depends on the method and frequency of use, as long as you use it correctly, 3 minutes is usually enough.

Don't you need to go to the hospital to clean your teeth if you do a good job of daily maintenance at home?

Regular teeth cleaning is still needed. Daily cleaning more or less will be missed, especially under the gums, even with the pasteurised brushing method, using dental floss, at most, can only clean under the gums 1 ~ 2 mm, the effect is not as thorough as scaling. Periodontal disease patients are best every six months to a year to the dentist for scaling.

Can mouthwash be used for a long time?

There is no authoritative explanation as to whether mouthwash can be used for a long period of time. However, mouthwash is not the preferred routine cleaning method, it is only an auxiliary cleaning means after brushing and cannot replace brushing. Mechanical cleaning is the best way to remove plaque.