Blog Series – Cleaning Difficult Areas

The aim of cleaning is remove debris and bacteria from the surface of teeth. This is called the biofilm or plaque. There are parts of the mouth when normal tooth brushing cannot get into. These are areas where bone has been lost or where teeth are in unusual positions. This creates areas where bacteria can hide from the cleansing actions of saliva and the movement of the tongue and cheek. The common areas are bone loss around and in between the roots of back teeth. Spaces between the roots become exposed to the mouth bacteria and plaque. This then collects, perpetuating the bone loss and eventually the loss of the tooth.

But there is HOPE! Yes the interdental brush. They come in many varieties but basically it’s a brush that negotiates concavities and spaces. Floss is also important to cleaning surfaces that a tooth brush cannot reach, mainly where teeth contact each other or the back of the last teeth.

This blog series explains how to negotiate various difficult situations. Unfortunately, this cleaning like all cleaning needs to be done daily otherwise the situation will worsen. The more bone loss there is, the more you have to clean, which means the more chance of missing areas, and so on. Then there is regular professional cleaning which may need to be done for some people with gum problems every three months. Generally every six months is ideal for most people.

Maintain your teeth and gums and your teeth and gums will love you back.

• Cleaning Difficult Areas – Interdental Cleaners, Part one – The roots
• Cleaning Difficult Areas – Interdental Cleaners, Part two – Between the teeth
• Cleaning Difficult Areas – Part three – Flossing – Annoying but necessary
• Cleaning Difficult Areas – Part four – Cleaning bridges

Next week: Blog Series – Hypoglycaemia