Conventional oral hygiene includes brushing your teeth after breakfast and before bed, and rinsing with fluoridated mouthwash, but Gary Klein, DDS, MS, and Richard Port, DDS, MS, who practice at Affiliated Dental Specialists in Gurnee and Vernon Hills, Ill, give their patients more detailed instructions. Their modified oral hygiene routine is designed to reduce the incidence of new cavities during treatment.
"The modified method has a few minor tweaks, but patients have had no problem fitting it into their established oral hygiene habits," said Port (pictured). He and Klein suggest a seven-step process:
1) Use 2 cm of fluoride toothpaste on a wet toothbrush.
2) Spread the toothpaste evenly in both arches.
3) Brush carefully for 2 minutes.
4) Take a sip of water and swish it around with the toothpaste remaining in the mouth for 30 seconds before spitting.
5) Do not do any other rinsing with water.
6) Avoid eating and drinking for 2 hours.
7) Brush twice a day: after breakfast and before bed.
The American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics published an article in the September 2010 issue that said this technique resulted in five times fewer carious lesions in the high-risk population they studied.
"This process works because the modified instructions increase how much and how long the fluoride is in the oral cavity, which is what helps protect teeth from cavity-causing bacteria," Klein said.
