Hi Melody,
The most effective way to remove plaque from your teeth is brushing and flossing properly. It is not so much what is on the toothbrush or in the mouthwash that removes the plaque... it is the mechanical action of brushing and flossing that does the trick. Within 45 minutes of brushing your teeth, plaque begins to form irrelevant of whether you have eaten or not. Plaque is a film of bacteria that is produced by the chemistry in our saliva. So irrelvant of what you rinse with or how many times you brush, you are going to produce plaque. The idea is to thoroughly remove the accumulation of plaque no less than twice a day by brushing and flossing..... especially at bedtime.
Biotene is really meant to be used by people who have an excessively dry mouth due to medications, radiation treatment, illness.... etc. However, it does not work as well as plain ole Xylitol and unlike Xylitol, Biotene contains fluoride, preservatives and dyes.
Even though you are "only" rinsing with a mouthwash, you are bathing the oral tissue, the tonsils and the nasal mucosa in the back of the throat with the ingredients in the mouthwash which is penetrating into these areas every time you use the rinse. There is no need to do that and it can be harmful. That's why if you are going to use mouthwash, it is important to use a product that does not disrupt or kill the good bacteria in your mouth.
A good example of a toothpaste that contains helpful, harmless cleaning agents that are actually good for our teeth and gums and has ingredients that help reduce the acidity in our mouths is .... Jason PowerSmile toothpaste and Jason Powersmile Mouthwash. They both have similar ingredients which means they are not going to be counterproductive if you use one right after the other.
Plaque is a slimy, white film that is easily removed with your toothbrush or floss. Tartar is plaque that has hardened. This means that the plaque was there for a long time and actually became hard. This needs to be scaled off with an instrument.
The proper order for oral hygiene is..... floss, brush, scrap the tongue, rinse. However, the order is not as crucial as the thoroughness of it all!
I'm also going to give you a "good job Melody"!! =)
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by MelodyL
Wow, did I get a lesson this morning. I have the dental cleaning things (with the safety tops on them). in my bathroom medicine chest.
This morning, I took it out, took off the protective rubber cap and sanitized it.
I then marched over to my new mirror that I had purchased from Brookstone (it's a 20x magnification mirror), and I looked in my mouth.
YOU REALLY SEE YOUR TEETH in this mirror.
I have been using the Oral B Smart series for several weeks now. All my teeth looked fine EXCEPT FOR THE BACK OF TWO OF MY FRONT TEETH.
There was this white line around the back of two of the teeth.
I took my dental pick and GENTLY scraped off the white stuff. It came off. I had to do a bit of digging. I never went near my gum line. I just took the white stuff off. After a bit of learning how to take it off, I got the hang of it. The white stuff came off and I said "wow, I actually can do this".
I imagine this was tartar that I had missed when brushing?
I them rinsed out my mouth with a bit of warm salt water and my mouth felt nice and clean.
It's like I have a new purpose in life now. Not to get any tartar (or to get a little as I possibly get).
I did the research and Biotene has enzymes that get the Bio-film off of you teeth.
So I just got back form CVS and I got Toms of Maine, and a bottle of Biotene (that has a green sticker on that says "gets rid of plaque".
Seems there a two kinds of Biotene.
Well, after going out for breakfast and buying these items, I then came home, and brushed with Toms of Maine, (didn't do the biotene get). the Toms of Maine left a lovely feeling in my mouth.
Because I have a question.
What is the exact order of brushing flossing and using Biotene (when one gets up in the morning).
Is it Brush, floss, use Biotene??
Because if Biotene gets rid of the bio-film, doesn't it make more sense to use Biotene first, then brush, then floss.
I just want to get the order in which I do these steps...correct.
Thanks much
P.S. the Oral B Smart Series really does do the trick. I mean, I only saw the tartar on two of my back teeth. And now THAT'S GONE.
I gather that if I continue to keep my teeth in this fashion, the next time I go for a cleaning, I might be told.
"GOOD JOB, MELODY"
lol
Mel
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