Q1: How to choose the ideal brushing technique for my patient?
A1:
Fit the technique to the patient.
Thin biotype:
Use a ROLL technique.
Brush the tops of the teeth by spreading the toothpaste around.
Start in one corner, go around behind the back tooth and work your way around.
Roll the toothbrush with a wrist action gently about 7x on each spot.
Thick biotype:
And with a rolled gingival margin you can use a combination of Bass/Roll technique.
Angle the bristles at 45 degrees between the junction of the gum and tooth.
Vibrate gently (don’t scrub) and then roll it. Roll, Vibrate, Roll, Vibrate.
Q2: How long should my patient brush for?
A2:
As long as it takes to clean every surface of every tooth.
A very good brusher is methodical and systematic.
It may even take up to 6 minutes with a manual toothbrush or 4 minutes with an electric brush.
Q3: Which electric brush should I consider recommending to my patients?
A3:
A clear winner but expensive is Philip’s Sonicare using vibration rather than rotary motion. It appears that Sonicare doesn’t seem
to result in as much recession in people with thin biotype. It’s neck is the right length and thin and easy to manipulate and get
around everywhere. Can use Bass technique and vibrate it back and forth gently.
Q4: Which manual toothbrush should I consider?
A4:
Curaprox Ultrasoft 5460 or Curaprox Velvet 12460 which is a much softer brush.
Q5: What is a more affordable or similar brush to Curaprox 5460?
A5:
Try Colgate Ultrasoft Compact Head- this toothbrush looks like it has the Curaprox head on a colgate handle.
Q6: What about interdental space management?
A6:
Flossing and Interdental brushes always.
Patients seem to like the TePe EasyPick. They are flexible and slide through the space efficiently, especially the orange XS/S size
compared to the M/L blue ones.
