Is brushing teeth an important way to prevent tooth decay? The truth is a bit heartbreaking!

In the popularization of oral health care, brushing teeth is a topic that cannot be avoided, and dentists will always emphasize the importance of brushing teeth carefully. Especially after a filling, the doctor will definitely remind you: Go home and brush your teeth well!

However, how effective is brushing teeth in preventing tooth decay? Can tooth decay be eliminated simply by brushing your teeth? The truth is not as simple as you might think! Today we will talk about the role of brushing teeth in preventing tooth decay.

01 The fundamental purpose of brushing teeth

We still need to answer this question by studying the mechanism of tooth decay. As we all know, the occurrence of tooth decay is related to dental plaque, sugary foods, the acid resistance of the teeth themselves, and the time of interaction between the first three. The longer dental plaque and sugary foods remain on the surface of the teeth, the worse the acid resistance of the teeth, and the higher the risk of tooth decay. The fundamental purpose of brushing teeth is to prevent dental plaque and sugary foods from remaining on the surface of the teeth.

02 Two "shortcomings" of brushing teeth

Although bacteria can penetrate anywhere and sugary food residues can be found everywhere, the possibility of these substances being retained and the difficulty of removing them are different on different teeth and on different surfaces of the same tooth. Therefore, although tooth decay can occur on any tooth, it is relatively common on the occlusal surface of the back teeth and the adjacent surfaces of the teeth (i.e., the gaps between teeth, which often kills two birds with one stone). In addition to the gaps between molars, the gaps between incisors are also common sites for interproximal caries.

However, the occlusal surface of the back teeth and the adjacent surfaces of the teeth are not places that the toothbrush is good at or can reach.

Although we usually clean the occlusal surface of the back teeth, due to the complex anatomical structure of the occlusal surface of the back teeth, there are always some places on it that the toothbrush bristles cannot reach, so brushing teeth cannot guarantee a thorough cleaning of the occlusal surface of the back teeth. Later, people thought of taking pit and fissure sealing measures on the occlusal surface of the back teeth.

The adjacent surfaces of teeth are areas that cannot be thoroughly cleaned by toothbrush bristles. Only specialized tools for cleaning the adjacent surfaces of teeth are suitable, mainly dental floss. Although interdental brushes can also clean the gaps between teeth, they are only suitable for people with abnormally widened gaps between teeth.

03 Brushing teeth is of great significance in preventing periodontitis

On the other hand, although brushing teeth is not very effective in preventing and caring for areas susceptible to tooth decay, it can remove most of the dental plaque and food debris in the mouth, so it is still useful for maintaining the overall pH value of the mouth. Therefore, this basic cleaning work is still very necessary; in addition, brushing teeth to remove most of the dental plaque (especially the dental plaque near the gingival sulcus) is also beneficial for preventing and slowing down the formation of dental calculus.

Although brushing teeth is not as effective in preventing tooth decay as imagined, it is still the basis of oral health care. After all, brushing teeth is still quite critical in preventing periodontal disease. Professional theory regards brushing teeth as one of the basic treatment measures for periodontal disease.

Learning how to brush your teeth and brushing them carefully is the most important part of oral preventive care. Don’t you agree?