Amazing: 20 percent of Germans still state that they do not know how to clean their teeth properly. And around every fourth person only concentrates superficially on care and often “forgets” to clean! This was the result of a representative survey by mhplus health insurance. After all, tips on dental hygiene and health were clearly desired by the 1000 respondents. Apparently, even with the absolute basics, there is still a lot of need for clarification. This is also confirmed by Dr. medical dent. Ralf Rössler, dentist and periodontist.
He recommends the following routine: “Brush daily in the morning and in the evening and think of KAI.” KAI stands for the order: first the chewing surfaces, then the outside, finally the inside. For one simple reason: If you stick to this order instead of driving wildly back and forth, you won’t miss a tooth. “After that, be sure to keep the spaces between your teeth clean with interdental brushes and dental floss. Because the lateral areas that border the other teeth make up up to 40 percent of the entire tooth surface.”
Table of Contents
How do I brush my teeth?
Doctors have long since given a clear answer to the eternal question of whether to do it by hand (63 percent of Germans still prefer it) or electrically. Expert Rössler: “There is no better tool for oral hygiene than the electric toothbrush. Namely – I agree with many colleagues on this – with oscillating-rotating technology. The different directions of movement effectively break up the plaque and wipe it away at the same time.” To do this, the soft (!) brush head should simply be held against the teeth and then moved from tooth to tooth. Vigorous scrubbing, as practiced by many manual toothbrush users, has a counterproductive effect: in the not too long term, you brush away your gums and the necks of your teeth are exposed. In the meantime, good brushes even save us a bit of time: three minutes used to be mandatory, Two minutes in the morning and two in the evening are sufficient with highly skilled cleaning staff. Nevertheless, residues remain on teeth, tongue, gums and the rest of the mouth. Oral hygiene would only be superfluous if we ate water and grass all our lives. Anything else will leave residue.
Proper dental care is extensive
Some things also leave clear traces (coffee, tea, red wine, nicotine), some less visible but all the more insidious (sweets, fruit, industrially produced foods with countless additives). Would sugar-free products be the solution? Unfortunately not. “Many companies advertise with the slogan ‘sugar-free’ on gummy bears or chocolate. While sugar-free can mean that a product is also tooth-friendly, it doesn’t have to be. These products often contain fruit or other types of sugar that cause tooth decay just like normal table sugar,” explains Prof. Dr. Stefan Zimmer, Chair of Tooth Conservation and Preventive Dentistry at the University of Witt en/Herdecke. What makes residues (the dentist calls them deposits) so insidious becomes clear when we look at what goes on in our oral cavity: Around ten billion bacteria from around 700 species cavort there. Ideally, there is a balance between the friendly and the less pleasant. However, the bacteria multiply strongly (especially the worse candidates) when they are given their favorite food, eg sugar, but also chips or soft drinks. If the supply of sweets is not removed soon, the bacteria have enough time to produce a lot of metabolites, mainly organic acids.
What to do if you have bad breath
Initially, they “only” cause bad breath, then they attack the teeth by dissolving the minerals (especially calcium phosphate) out of the tooth enamel, which in the long run leads to tooth decay. Although our tooth enamel, the hardest substance in our body, is physically stable and unassailable, chemically it is rather unstable. But delicate dental floss triumphs against aggressive bacteria: Only with the thin thread (preferably unwaxed) you can reach the places where the deposits otherwise lead to insidious gum inflammation. Inflamed gums swell and form a pocket at the transition from tooth to gum, in which bacteria can multiply with special protection. If this is not treated, it leads to inflammation, periodontitis. This spreads along the teeth into the jawbone and leads to the breakdown of the bone. In the worst case (and not so rare) this attack on the periodontium can lead to the tooth falling out.
The strong five
Of course, caramel is unfortunately not one of them. Here you will get to know kitchen friends who protect your teeth.
Celery
Chewing has a triple effect: it massages the gums, cleans the spaces between the teeth and stimulates the flow of saliva – and this suppresses the caries bacterium Streptococcus mutans. Raw carrots have similar effects, studies have found.
Sesame seeds
With 87 mg of calcium per teaspoon, the granules not only help to build up tooth enamel, they also remove plaque when chewing – like an organic peeling.
Raw onions
They are considered antibacterial geniuses against tooth decay. A few onion rings will suffice. Best eaten in combination with fresh parsley, it takes the (mouth) odor away from the onion, provides vitamins and trace elements and has a detoxifying effect.
Shiitake mushrooms
are effective against plaque thanks to the sugar lentinan, which has been shown to inhibit plaque formation.
Wasabi
isothiocyanates are the names of the substances that make the green Japanese spice paste so spicy. At the same time, they turn off pro-inflammatory bacteria in the periodontal pockets.
Which zan pasta is the right one?
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably still expecting the ultimate statement on the best toothpaste. But we have to disappoint you: It’s a question of your taste. Toothpastes contribute little to cleaning, they are mainly responsible for the pleasant feeling. Exception: “Anyone who suffers from allergies usually gets along better with brine creams,” says Dr. Dierk Remberg. The added fluoride remains a point of contention among experts for the time being: proponents consider the concentration in toothpaste
to be harmless and only see the advantage of hardening the enamel. Opponents believe the benefit to tooth enamel is pure propaganda, arguing that fluoride causes insidious poisoning of the body. Supporting studies and statistics
both sides can show. The fact is: the human body needs the trace element fluoride. But it is also found in many foods, such as almonds and walnuts, as well as radishes, leafy greens and wild plants.
For the future, it is becoming apparent that at least one other active ingredient could firstly be safer and secondly even more effective than fluoride: US scientists compared several toothpastes in a study. It has been proven that the enamel-hardening effect of theobromine, an active ingredient from the cocoa bean, is significantly higher than that of toothpastes with calcium sodium phosphosilicate and fluoride. We still don’t have a corresponding inexpensive product on the market, but that will surely come soon.
Special toothpastes are already available that people can use in special situations: for example products enriched with vitamin B12. vitaminB12 plays an important role in cell division, blood formation and the nervous system. Vegans, pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, smokers and alcoholics cannot always absorb or utilize the vitamin in sufficient quantities through food. Studies (e.g. at the University of Magdeburg) have shown that vitamin B12 can be absorbed through the oral mucosa and – used regularly twice a day for at least four weeks – reduces or even compensates for the deficiency.
A guide to brushing your teeth
Oral care is also good for the heart and circulatory system: other studies have shown that careful oral hygiene slows down the development of atherosclerosis. In addition, the particularly aggressive germ Porphyromonas gingivalis, which occurs in periodontitis, can attack damaged heart valves and, if left untreated, lead to inflammation of the heart muscle. Another source of danger in periodontitis patients are inflammatory messenger substances. “They can be detected with an interleukin test. It costs about 75 euros,” says dentist Milan Michalides from Stuhr near Bremen. Diabetes mellitus is also suspected of being related to periodontitis-promoting bacteria. If all of that doesn’t motivate you enough, maybe this is how it works: musicologists at the British Brighton Institute of Modern Music have developed a trick to get children to brush their teeth properly with music. The decisive factor is the number of bars – eight bars, then four bars twice. The lively “Gangnam Style” by Psy proved to be ideal. This also works for adults. If you like it quieter, listen to Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” while cleaning.
Ten times wisdom
5 DOs
1. If you have yellowish teeth, wear lipsticks in cool colors, i.e. with a blue component. For example pink! They make teeth appear brighter and whiter. Warm tones with a yellow component have the opposite effect.
2. If you have cravings, eat the chocolate in one piece and then brush your teeth. Spreading the table over hours would mean an endless party for bacteria.
3. Use the tongue scraper every day: Around 80 percent of the bacteria in the entire oral cavity settle on the tongue.
4 . Stimulate salivation, eg by chewing nuts vigorously. Saliva is the most important ally against acids because it dilutes them and can remineralize teeth.
5 . Essential oils can inhibit the growth of periodontitis pathogens. Antibiotic highly active: lemon grass, manuka, lavender and peppermint. Dilute organic oils, gargle.
5 DON’Ts
1. Not a good idea: brush your teeth after breakfast. A layer of bacteria builds up on your teeth overnight. Better to grab the brush as soon as you get up.
2. Tiramisu for dessert. Order cheese instead: it sticks to your teeth for a long time and covers them with a protective layer of calcium.
3. As a tea fan, use toothpaste with a strong scouring (abrasive) effect. This roughens the surface, and discoloration can really take hold.
4. 4Please no sonic toothbrush for migraines: The noise and tingling feel very uncomfortable during an attack.
5 . Brushing your teeth immediately after eating or drinking acidic foods doesn’t give tooth enamel a chance to recover. Wait an hour!
Interview: Felt on the tooth
vital: Dr. Remberg, how do holistic dentists work?
dr Remberg: We also pay attention to the connections in the body. This includes the system of the mucous membrane with its entire network up to the intestinal flora. In the case of gum problems, I can see whether the periodontal disease (gum disease) is an expression of a
strain on the mucous membrane system.
So it’s about deeper root cause analysis?
It’s about strengthening the entire system, holistically, and as with naturopathy, it’s always about detoxification.
Do you use different tests than “normal” dentists?
We use naturopathic techniques that provide detailed information about inflammation, hidden or chronic diseases. These cannot always be captured using traditional methods.
Are these techniques generally used?
No, only for chronic complaints. First we ask about lifestyle habits, look at the chewing muscles, how the teeth sit together, the wear and tear of the chewing surfaces, and pay attention to jaw noises.
Speaking of which: is there anything new on the subject of crunching?
25 years ago, three quarters of patients came to the practice because they had acute toothache. Today, more than half complain of pain in their jaws, muscles and joints because they grind so much. There’s stress behind it. The ideal tooth cleaning… …brush, dental floss and interdental brushes.
What do you think of the popular bleaching?
Only hydrogen peroxide really whitens teeth. Over-the-counter products may have a maximum of 0.1 percent peroxide. Everyone has to judge for themselves what that means.
What is the most important thing to keep everything in your mouth healthy?
Keeping the entire mucous membrane system and thus the gums free of inflammation: through a wholesome diet with natural, basic foods without a lot of sugar and without industrially manufactured products with artificial additives.
