I need help!

badteeth4

I need help trying to figure out what is happening to my teeth, I brush them a lot, and there is always plaque on the gumline and in the creases of my teeth, I need help! Ask for pictures!

Mad Jazz

Dentist for regular cleanings? Floss? Mouthwash? Ideally, a combination of all of the above.

It's very difficult to keep up with plaque accumulation using just a manual toothbrush. Biofilm is a tenacious thing, so the regular cleanings help keep that shit under control. Beyond that, I dunno. I'm not a dentist, nor do I play one on tv.

Artereis

Get a Sonicare toothbrush. The difference between that and a standard toothbrush is huge. I've been prone to plaque my whole life, but I had a substantial improvement after switching.

WildEEP

Find Mouthwashes and tooth paste that have floride.
Brush at least twice a day.
Mouthwash 3 - 5 times a day.
Floss after meals.

Do this religiously for 90 days and then get back to us.

ceres

We don't want pictures of your teeth. You need to go to a dentist for a cleaning; they can give you the best instructions for plaque maintenance. :P

Dr. Frenchenstein

you might be brushing your teeth too much/too hard. My ex GF always got cavities and she brushed her teeth like three times a day. i do it in the AM and at night, and i've never had a cavity in my life. granted, some people's teeth are just different, but yeah, go to the dentist...

Speaking of which... i need to make an appt.

bowen

You need to brush your teeth where it meets your gum line. This happened to me when I was a teenager. Hold brush at 45 degree angle, brush where they meet. Get the bristles under your gum line. Rinse with mouthwash when you're done.

Alternatively: Invest in a sonicare and your teeth will fucking love you.

You're welcome, you'll have clean feeling teeth like you do at the dentist. Get medium strength bristles too, soft won't do shit for caked on plaque. Also yes, go to the dentist at least once a year.

bowen

Also, stop drinking soda/coffee and eating junk food/candy.

Essee

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »

you might be brushing your teeth too much/too hard. My ex GF always got cavities and she brushed her teeth like three times a day. i do it in the AM and at night, and i've never had a cavity in my life. granted, some people's teeth are just different, but yeah, go to the dentist...

Speaking of which... i need to make an appt.

I've been looking up all this stuff again lately to make sure I'm doing things right. The current wisdom is that A) you don't brush for 30 minutes after having something acidic because it will grind it into your teeth and actually WEAKEN your enamel, and you should try to brush BEFORE meals, except you should still brush before going to bed. And when you do brush you should do it up-and-down, not side-to-side, and for at least two minutes. Also flossing. Actually apparently flossing is pretty much MORE important than brushing, which is interesting to me. Sooo, your ex could have gotten any number of these things wrong, and/or she just had a different diet or her teeth were different or whatever.

Djeet

If you're only going to brush once a day, do it before you go to bed. Flossing is important, but tooth and gum health has a strong genetic component. So I don't have to brush much and still won't have bad dental visits, while my wife has to brush twice a day and still has teeth issues every visit.

I don't like going to the dentist, so I'll use a dental pick/probe on myself to remove any built up plaque. I cannot really recommend this to others since it's self-administered amateur dentistry, which sounds all kinds of wrong, but it's what I do.

bowen

Essee wrote: »

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »

you might be brushing your teeth too much/too hard. My ex GF always got cavities and she brushed her teeth like three times a day. i do it in the AM and at night, and i've never had a cavity in my life. granted, some people's teeth are just different, but yeah, go to the dentist...

Speaking of which... i need to make an appt.

I've been looking up all this stuff again lately to make sure I'm doing things right. The current wisdom is that A) you don't brush for 30 minutes after having something acidic because it will grind it into your teeth and actually WEAKEN your enamel, and you should try to brush BEFORE meals, except you should still brush before going to bed. And when you do brush you should do it up-and-down, not side-to-side, and for at least two minutes. Also flossing. Actually apparently flossing is pretty much MORE important than brushing, which is interesting to me. Sooo, your ex could have gotten any number of these things wrong, and/or she just had a different diet or her teeth were different or whatever.

Flossing is good if you have a habit of getting shit stuck in your teeth, most modern brushes are better nowadays. In terms of bad for your teeth, the plaque at gum line is far worse than a little bit of chicken stuck between your teeth. Shit could end up killing you, and lead to you losing your teeth. Overall health of your mouth though, it's probably a tossup. I'd rather see someone brush than floss, to be honest, in a professional setting. Your teeth get nasty if you don't brush. I can ignore the spinach sticking out.

Essee

bowen wrote: »

Essee wrote: »

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »

you might be brushing your teeth too much/too hard. My ex GF always got cavities and she brushed her teeth like three times a day. i do it in the AM and at night, and i've never had a cavity in my life. granted, some people's teeth are just different, but yeah, go to the dentist...

Speaking of which... i need to make an appt.

I've been looking up all this stuff again lately to make sure I'm doing things right. The current wisdom is that A) you don't brush for 30 minutes after having something acidic because it will grind it into your teeth and actually WEAKEN your enamel, and you should try to brush BEFORE meals, except you should still brush before going to bed. And when you do brush you should do it up-and-down, not side-to-side, and for at least two minutes. Also flossing. Actually apparently flossing is pretty much MORE important than brushing, which is interesting to me. Sooo, your ex could have gotten any number of these things wrong, and/or she just had a different diet or her teeth were different or whatever.

Flossing is good if you have a habit of getting shit stuck in your teeth, most modern brushes are better nowadays. In terms of bad for your teeth, the plaque at gum line is far worse than a little bit of chicken stuck between your teeth. Shit could end up killing you, and lead to you losing your teeth. Overall health of your mouth though, it's probably a tossup. I'd rather see someone brush than floss, to be honest, in a professional setting. Your teeth get nasty if you don't brush. I can ignore the spinach sticking out.

Well I wasn't saying "floss, don't brush" naturally. Just yes, for the overall health of the mouth flossing is apparently better (and definitely at least even with brushing). Also, one of the common reasons people don't floss is, indeed, "but I don't get stuff stuck in my teeth!" Even though you don't think you do, plaque also gets stuck between teeth, not just on the outside of them. THAT is why you floss (that and it helps gum health). Like I said, I looked this up, for reals, or I wouldn't even mention it.

Edit: And fair enough that brushes are better now, but dentists, etc. still consider it important to floss even with those advances.

LadyDustBunny

Rinse your mouth with hydrogen peroxide. Especially at night. Brush, floss, then rinse with hydrogen peroxide instead of any sort of mouth wash. Then go to bed (no food or water). It's what my dentist recommends and it's worked wonders for me.

Dr. Frenchenstein

really? i would think that would kill even good bacteria that lives in your grocery hole.

I bit a sweet hole in my lip a long time ago, and i was rinsing with Hydrogen Peroxide and my doctor was appalled. i forget why though, he said to switch to warm salt water. Also, hydrogen peroxide tastes fucking disgusting.

also my ex flossed like the dickens as well. i think she just lost out on the genetics lottery in regards to teeth primarily. but i have heard that you can actually brush the enamel right off your teeth.