Tips
Dental hygiene
The most important thing, of course is regularly cleaning your teeth. Normally cleaning your teeth twice a day should be enough - cleaning your teeth in the evening before you go to bed is most important. Otherwise the teeth are distressed for many hours.
After enjoying acidic foods such as fruit or drinks containing citric acid, you should first rinse the mouth with water and only brush your teeth after 20 minutes. Of course, you can also clean your teeth before consuming acidic foods. The fluoride in tooth paste hardens the enamel before subsequent acid attacks.
Brushing techniques
Modified Bass-Technique
At an angle of 45°, the bristles of the toothbrush are placed on the teeth and gums. Vibrating, short movements are performed with gentle, even pressure, and after that, the dissolved plaque is wiped away with a rotational movement in the direction of the tooth crown. The procedure should be repeated several times. The teeth are cleaned systematically, first all upper teeth, then those in the lower jaw.
KAI-Technique
Infants and children can't master these complex procedures properly. Parents should therefore teach them the "KAI" technique. Here, the toothbrush can just be (direction: forward and back) be passed over the teeth. The acronym KAI stands for:
K = "Kaufläche" (English = occlusal surface): First the surfaces are cleaned, which are used for chewing.
A = "Außenseite" (English = outside surface):The exterior surfaces are cleaned.
I = "Innenseite" (English = inside surface): The interior surfaces are cleaned.
These areas are not easy to brush for children. Therefore, caution must be exercised.
Toothpaste
Toothpaste supports the cleansing action of the toothbrush with their polishing agents and other additives; it should have a high degree of purification, but a low abrasive action, to prevent damage to the enamel. For brushing teeth, a fluoride toothpaste should be used. Especially at night, it makes sense not to rinse your mouth after brushing your teeth, because that way, the active ingredients of the toothpaste work longer. Just spit out the foam. Anyone who does not like doing that because of the taste should try to only rinse their mouth out slightly.
Dental floss
The spaces between the teeth must be cared for, too. This happens at least once a day. Evenings are the most suitable for that. There is waxed and unwaxed dental floss on the market. For beginners, the waxed version is recommended because it breaks less easily and slides over the proximal contact point better. More experienced users can use the unwaxed floss with an even better cleaning effect.
If the spaces between the teeth are very narrow, dental floss that wraps around each one of the abutting faces can be used, which cleans the teeth by moving up and down below the point at which the teeth encounter each other laterally. For wider spaces and for maintaining bridges, the use of floss with soft, thicker portions is useful.