Healthy teeth into old age: A wish that can become reality with the right dental care. You should adhere to the following dental care routine every day.
For children, the main focus is on caries prevention. Later, when the teeth are a little older, many people are more likely to struggle with gum and periodontal diseases, changes in the oral mucosa, but also functional disorders such as clenching or grinding of teeth.
Like children, adults should also have a check-up appointment with the dentist at least once a year
. This detects caries, budding periodontitis or misaligned teeth* and can prevent painful and costly therapies through early treatment.
“You can find out from your family dentist whether and where you should optimize your oral hygiene and which type of toothbrush you should use, e.g. B. as part of a professional teeth cleaning,” recommends the University of Greifswald. According to the Baden-Württemberg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Dentists (KZVBW), professional teeth cleaning (PZR) is considered a useful service. But this is an individual health service, or IGeL for short, for which health insurance companies in Germany are not obliged to pay.
As the consumer advice center informs, the PZR is always a private service, although many health insurance companies subsidize it voluntarily
. After weighing up the benefits and harms, the IGeL Monitor rates the PZR as “unclear” because the scientists found no reliable study that proves a benefit, according to the consumer advice center. However, this does not apply to people with a high risk of periodontitis. 24vita.de* reveals what happens when bacteria in the mouth get out of control.
You might also be interested in
: Toothpaste for children: What you should pay attention to*
Brush your teeth twice a day and floss once: instructions for daily dental care
If you follow the following tips, you can prevent tooth decay and ensure healthy gums:
According to the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), the German Dental Association recommends
brushing your teeth twice a day for at least two to three minutes with a toothpaste containing fluoride
. The following applies: Always sweep from “red to white” so that bacteria do not get under the gum line. Be careful not to brush with too much pressure as this can damage tooth enamel.
Choose the right toothbrush:
If you prefer to brush with a manual toothbrush, the bristles should be made of plastic (nylon)
, as the University of Greifswald informs. Natural bristles, on the other hand, are not recommended because they have a medullary canal that can serve as an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. When it comes to the hardness of the bristles, you should pay attention to medium-hard bristles and if you have very sensitive gums, use toothbrushes with soft bristles.
According to the University of Greifswald, anyone who uses a
round, oscillating, electric toothbrush
should stay on the surface of the tooth for two to five seconds, giving it enough time to clean the surface of the tooth. You should also turn the brush head as far as possible into the space between your teeth and thus clean tooth by tooth and surface by surface one after the other. With the
sound-active toothbrush
, on the other hand, small movements on the neck of the tooth with strokes towards the chewing surface would be sufficient.
“If the bristle field shows deviations from the original shape or after two to three months at the latest, you should
replace the brush
,” is the recommendation of the Greifswald University Medical Center.
You should also clean
the spaces between your teeth once a day
. According to the TK, this is so important because brushing with a toothbrush only cleans around 70 percent of the tooth surface. What the bristles do not reach adequately are the often narrow spaces between teeth, which are therefore particularly susceptible to tooth decay and periodontitis. To remove food residue and bacterial biofilm, you should use dental floss for narrow gaps between teeth and interdental brushes for larger gaps between teeth.
After consuming acidic foods and drinks such as orange, pineapple or grapefruit, you should
wait at least 30 minutes before brushing
, informs the health insurance company DAK Gesundheit.
(jg)
*Merkur.de and 24vita.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA.
More sources: https://www.kzvbw.de/patienten/haeufige-fragen/prophylaxe/; https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/gesundheit-pflege/
Read more
: Do you use that expensive toothpaste? However, Stiftung Warentest strongly advises against this.