Sweets don’t just put a dent in your diet, they also attack your teeth with a vengeance. Nothing that some vigorous tooth-brushing can’t solve, right?
Not necessarily. We’ve been brushing twice a day since kindergarten (at least, we should be). But still we can’t get it right.
“Odd as it sounds, most people are no good at brushing their teeth,” said Paul Warren, a dentist and a vice president of scientific relations for Procter & Gamble Oral Care.
All you have to do is brush tooth by tooth, bristles to the gumline, for at least two minutes, according to the American Dental Association.
But most adults fail miserably. We brush haphazardly, concentrating on the front-and-center teeth and making short work of our molars. For many, the cardinal sin is scouring their gum lines as if plaque were bathtub grout.
Patience also is no virtue among toothbrushers. “They spend an average of 47 seconds doing it,” Warren said.
That incompetence is good news for toothbrush makers. They’ve reworked one of the most altered devices known to man. Colgate has presented 14 manual brushes in the past five years. Oral-B typically introduces one electronic brush a year, the fruition of the work of more than 300 designers and engineers over three to five years.
Never mind that the device we know — bristles mounted on a 6-inch-long handle — has been around for more than 5,000 years. Or that its job, removing remnants of your last meal, has remained unchanged. The toothbrush has had more makeovers than Michael Jackson.
Some changes are cosmetic, but the majority are intended to make the simple task of brushing even simpler.
“Consumers aren’t good at brushing, so we’re taking them out of the equation,” said Graham Mott, a research and development executive for Philips Sonicare. “We’re making the toothbrush idiot-proof.”
How to explain our ineptness when it comes to oral hygiene?
“Most people don’t really understand the process or don’t want to spend the time and effort they should,” said Dr. Howard Glazer, a former president of the Academy of General Dentistry. “They think it’s OK to go once around the park and then home.”
People don’t follow their dentists’ instructions, either.
“Lots of patients brush way too hard, no matter what we tell them,” said Dr. Susan Karabin, the president of the American Academy of Periodontology. “They think they’re not doing a good job unless they’re spraying toothpaste all over the vanity.”
Despite makers’ claims that their toothbrushes offer superior cleaning, “there are relatively few large, well-controlled studies demonstrating a clear advantage of one brush over another,” said Marjolijn Hovius, the editor of the International Journal of Dental Hygiene.
How methodically a person brushes is far more important than the brush he or she uses, experts say. A meticulous brusher can remove plaque with a bit of wood as well as with a state-of-the-art toothbrush, Karabin said.
But there’s one advantage to buying a $180 cutting-edge toothbrush.
“If you spend a lot of money on a toothbrush, that’s a great motivational tool,” Glazer said. “You’ll probably use it more than the one I give to you for free.”
Marijuana smoke may ruin a smile
It may do more than give you the munchies: Regular marijuana smoking appears to increase young adults’ risk of gum disease. As part of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, about 42 percent of 900 people born in 1972-73 showed some signs of periodontal disease at age 32. After controlling for dental checkups, tobacco use and plaque, researchers found that about 24 percent of the heaviest marijuana smokers showed some signs of gum problems, compared with 11 percent of infrequent users and 6 percent of those who did not smoke pot. [ the washington post ]
ELECTRIC BRUSHING
Can’t be bothered to move the brush on your own? Fret not; the oral-care industry is here to help. [ new york times news service ]
Ultreo brush
$169.99
This brush adds ultrasound to sonic bristle action to make things even easier. Just hold the orange-tinged gadget in one spot until you get the signal to relocate it. This hint occurs every 30 seconds.
Colgate 360
about $3.99
The 360 has a NASA-worthy bristle configuration, with extra rubber bits that squeegee away plaque with almost no pressure at all.
Oral-B Triumph
$149.99
SmartGuide features a remote digital display that delivers an audible and visual warning when you’re brushing too hard.
Sonicare FlexCare
$179.99
The FlexCare has two different routines, the speedy GoCare setting and the MaxCare mode, a two-minute cleaning and one-minute massage.
