How To Prevent Tooth Decay Daily

Hi. I'm Brian Halvorsen and I'm a Dentist. I've been in practice for over 35 years and I've written a book about my principles on Holistic Dentistry.

The book is called Great Teeth for Life. So, what can we do about preventing tooth decay on a day-to-day basis? First thing about young children, get them brushing their teeth as early as you can. Initially, moms and dads, you've got to do it for them and this means gentle brushing, sometimes even starting on with just a bit of cotton wool, very very soft toothbrush, possibly even without any toothpaste.

It's important to get them used to actually having their teeth brushed because on a day-to-day basis, brushing is really what is going to be the most effective way of preventing tooth decay. Now, tooth decay can occur in various parts of the mouth and various parts on the tooth. Now on the back teeth, it often will occur in the biting surfaces and this is very very common in the younger children.

Now as we get older and the teeth get slightly tighter together, we often find the hole will occur right down tight between. That is actually much much more difficult to get there and I'll explain in a few minutes how it could be done. This is where often we get tooth decay right at the gum line.

That is often because we're just not brushing quite properly and when we brush our teeth, we should also be brushing at the joint and so you're also brushing the gum as well as the tooth. Now, often I always say that once the child can actually get to the point of understanding and brushing themselves, then it's worth seeking the advice of the dentist and the hygienist about how to have their own technique. This will vary because we've all got slightly different shaped mouths and sometimes when teeth are, baby teeth are falling out, permanent teeth are growing, then we've got hegel to pickletee and difficulty of brushing becomes more intense.

So this is a time when in fact seeking advice at the dentist is very very important. Again it's about prevention. Now unfortunately, looking after your teeth is a little bit like washing your face.

You can do it perfectly but literally within hours, you'll get plaque building back up on the tooth. Now plaque is the cause of decay because it's basically a film that builds up on the tooth surface and to start with, it's very thin but it's actually made from the saliva which then combines with the bacteria that naturally live in the mouth. When you add food to that especially sugars, that's what causes tooth decay because the sugars are converted into acids and the tooth is actually where it's not removed, is literally dissolved away.

A sort of analogy I suppose, is a little bit like a, if you get a stagnation area on a car then you'll actually get rust and it's very very similar with tooth decay. It's the areas which you don't clean which will actually cause or likely to cause tooth decay. So there are various techniques to be able to get all around the mouth when you're cleaning.

So brushing is the most effective, should be using an electric toothbrush, should be using a handbrush, whatever suits. They're both been proven to be quite effective. Very popular is the use of dental floss.

Now the dental floss will get into those areas between the teeth which we can't normally get out, where the teeth are tight together and the brush won't get to. Again though, because of the difference in shape of our teeth and mouth, it's much better to get professional advice over how to do it. Now it's worth spending time with the dentist and the hygienist because if you get it right once, then hopefully that technique will last you a lifetime.

By coming regularly to the dentist and the hygienist, what they can do is to check to see if you're actually doing the job correctly. So really this is where I think the best use of visiting the dentist is. It's not about waiting till you get a hole, it's about pre