Finally I went to the dentist today (yesterday actually), after procrastinating for the past couple of years. And my teeth seem to be in quite a bad state, as the dentist said I have been using the wrong techniques in brushing my teeth, resulting in weak gums and a not-so-polished inner teeth surface.
Apparently, the way which our primary school dental nurse taught us in brushing the teeth was wrong, as that would hurt the gums, after we switched from a smaller toothbrush to a bigger toothbrush.
The dentist told me to use only a quarter of the toothbrush instead of the full toothbrush while brushing the outer surface, and for the teeth on the inner surface, we have to hold the brush and brush in an upward motion for each individual tooth, instead of holding the brush in a horizontal way.
How to determine if the teeth are clean? It is the texture, not the colour. Teeth need not be sparkling pure white to be clean, but the texture should be smooth and shiny, and not matte and rough. After she had polished and scaled my teeth, I ran my tongue around them and they feel so smooth and look so shiny! A real big difference!
This dentist is really good. Unlike the previous dentists I saw where I felt pain whenever they tried to polish and scale my teeth, this dentist is gentle yet firm at the same time. The result? I felt a tingling sensation, but no pain at all.
At the end of the treatment, my lower molars felt numb, and the numbing sensation is still subsistent right now, but the numbing is due more to the sensitivity of the gums resulted from the wrong way I had been brushing my teeth than anything else.
So from now on, I have to monitor the way I brush my teeth, and not to grind my teeth whenever I feel stress and upset! Then perhaps I can finally have a sparkling smile for once!
Apparently, the way which our primary school dental nurse taught us in brushing the teeth was wrong, as that would hurt the gums, after we switched from a smaller toothbrush to a bigger toothbrush.
The dentist told me to use only a quarter of the toothbrush instead of the full toothbrush while brushing the outer surface, and for the teeth on the inner surface, we have to hold the brush and brush in an upward motion for each individual tooth, instead of holding the brush in a horizontal way.
How to determine if the teeth are clean? It is the texture, not the colour. Teeth need not be sparkling pure white to be clean, but the texture should be smooth and shiny, and not matte and rough. After she had polished and scaled my teeth, I ran my tongue around them and they feel so smooth and look so shiny! A real big difference!
This dentist is really good. Unlike the previous dentists I saw where I felt pain whenever they tried to polish and scale my teeth, this dentist is gentle yet firm at the same time. The result? I felt a tingling sensation, but no pain at all.
At the end of the treatment, my lower molars felt numb, and the numbing sensation is still subsistent right now, but the numbing is due more to the sensitivity of the gums resulted from the wrong way I had been brushing my teeth than anything else.
So from now on, I have to monitor the way I brush my teeth, and not to grind my teeth whenever I feel stress and upset! Then perhaps I can finally have a sparkling smile for once!
1 comments:
FLossing is important, as well, the idea is not to grind down your gums with vigourous brush strokes, but to brush away from the gums.
Not that I am any expert, having suffered a fair bit of bone loss and receding gum line (I have very long looking teeth). Years of vigorous brushing have also etched grooves in my teeth.
Post a Comment