[Oral Health Science Series 6] Get rid of the trouble of dental plaque

Everyone loves beauty. The face is the facade of a person, and a smile is an expression of confidence. It carries a person's image and personality traits. Having clean and bright white teeth will make you look more beautiful and confident when you smile. Scientific brushing is one of the simplest, most affordable and effective ways to achieve this goal. However, not everyone can "really" clean their teeth, and not brushing them cleanly will also cause a series of oral problems...

Unexplained bleeding gums?

When brushing teeth in the morning, the toothbrush turned red. When looking in the mirror, the gums were red. Most people would think that they were "getting angry". However, the truth seems to be not so simple. After carefully looking in the mirror, you can find clues. The teeth that have been brushed have a layer of sticky dirt on the surface. Some are even as hard as stone, stuck between the two teeth and gums, and can't be brushed off! It was not until I went to the hospital that I found out that these dirt had been irritating the surrounding gums.

Who is causing trouble?

These dirties are dental plaques, the killers hidden around teeth! Dental plaques are dirties formed due to long-term inadequate cleaning of the tooth surface, which leads to the continuous accumulation of plaques and calcification deposition.

If dental tartar is not removed in time, the bacterial plaque attached to its surface will irritate the periodontal tissues and easily cause gingival bleeding. In severe cases, it may lead to periodontal disease characterized by loose and displaced teeth or even tooth loss.

How to remove dental tartar?

Once you find dental calculus, you should go to a regular hospital for treatment as soon as possible. The doctor will first examine and evaluate our oral and general conditions and then make corresponding treatments. Teeth cleaning is an effective treatment method to remove dental calculus and prevent further aggravation of periodontal disease. It is divided into supragingival cleaning and subgingival scaling.

How to stay away from dental plaque?

To prevent the formation of dental tartar, we only need to pay attention to the small details of daily oral cleaning to achieve twice the result with half the effort: How can we stay away from dental tartar?

1) Brush your teeth correctly: Use the horizontal vibrating brushing method and brush your teeth every morning and evening for at least 3 minutes each time.

(2) Cleaning between teeth: Use dental floss or an interdental brush after every meal to remove plaque and food debris from the adjacent surfaces of teeth.

(3) Rinse your mouth after meals: Use mouthwash to help clean your mouth and maintain oral hygiene.

(4) Regular oral examinations: Perform oral examinations every six months to one year to assess whether teeth cleaning is needed.

Let us take action together to safeguard healthy oral health!

The popular science content of this platform has been funded by the China Association for Science and Technology's Science Popularization Department's 2022 National Science Literacy Action Project "National Society Science Popularization Capacity Improvement Project-Rehabilitation Science Popularization Service Capacity Improvement Action Plan"

Author: Xie Shanshan, Ji Wenqiang, Xu Runjuan

Review: Jiang Xinxiang, Peng Yan

Unit: Stomatological Hospital Affiliated to Guilin Medical College, Oral Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation Committee of Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association