Healthy mouth and teeth, healthy body

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Extract from the article: To maintain good oral health, doctors recommends three rules to be observed: the adoption of good eating and lifestyle habits, clean teeth and mouth, and systematic visits to the dentist from an early age.

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To maintain good oral health, doctors recommends three rules to be observed: the adoption of good eating and lifestyle habits, clean teeth and mouth, and systematic visits to the dentist from an early age.

Hygiene is the set of principles and practices designed to preserve and improve health. Prevention is the set of measures designed to avoid or reduce the number and severity of illnesses. Prevention has three main objectives: to avoid the onset of new illnesses to detect and treat illnesses at an early stage to minimize functional disability resulting from illness. In the field of oral health, this mainly involves preventing dental caries and periodontal disease.

Healthy eating

A balanced and varied diet is essential: the daily diet must include the main nutrients, such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Daily meals should therefore consist of meat, fish or eggs, cereals, starchy foods, vegetables and fruit.Water or milk should be preferred to fruit juices.Prefer fibrous, slightly hard or firm foods that facilitate self-cleaning of the teeth.

Apart from these indications, you should avoid: overeating sweet foods, eating sweets in the evening before going to bed, eating sweets outside the main meals, snacking on sweet foods throughout the day. Avoid practices that are harmful to oral health: eating foods that are too soft or too sticky, opening bottles with your teeth, breaking hard bones, eating foods that are too hot or too cold, chewing tobacco, abusing alcohol, smoking, cleaning teeth with sharp metal objects, toothpicks or vegetable toothbrushes or toothbrush sticks that are too hard or too dry.

Clean teeth and mouth

Brushing your teeth and mouth is the key to keeping them clean.It's the most important part of preventing oral disease.It is the primary act of removing food debris and plaque by friction.This increases the resistance of teeth and gums. Plaque is the coating of food and saliva that settles on teeth after a meal.On this coating, which thickens throughout the day, adhere millions of bacteria that live naturally in the mouth. Plaque is at the root of tooth decay, tartar and bad breath.

Type of toothbrush

There are three types of toothbrush: the manual synthetic toothbrush and the electric toothbrush: for the same length of use, the electric toothbrush outperforms the manual toothbrush. the vegetable toothbrush or toothbrush stick, or the natural toothbrush or toothpick. In all cases, choose a toothbrush with a small, flexible head, adapted to your age, capable of cleaning the teeth from the back of the mouth, without traumatizing the gums and without filing or scratching the teeth.

Brushing technique

Tooth brushing is done: first, vertically on both sides of the teeth, inside and out, always moving from the gums towards the teeth. This action removes food debris from between the teeth. Then horizontally on the upper (and lower) masticatory or occlusal surface of the teeth.

Brushing should cover all teeth, not forgetting those at the back. Brushing firms gums and prevents tartar build-up. If your gums bleed a little when you brush them, don't worry, they need to be firmed up by regular brushing.Brushing can be perfected by using adjuvants such as dental floss to remove residual food debris in the interdental spaces.

Brushing is completed by brushing the inside of the cheeks, the roof of the mouth and brushing the back of the tongue horizontally.

Toothpaste

Toothpaste complements the mechanical effect of the toothbrush, removing food debris from tooth surfaces and interdental spaces and reducing plaque.Toothpaste should clean and shine teeth without scratching enamel.What's more, it leaves a clean, fresh sensation, while scenting the breath. The role of the paste is not to whiten teeth, as each set of teeth has its own coloring.

Toothpaste is made up of active ingredients with a specific action on teeth.Virtually all toothpastes contain fluoride, an active ingredient that strengthens tooth enamel.Fluoride protects against tooth decay, and excipients such as abrasives, aromas, colorants and foaming agents. Some toothpastes contain additional active ingredients such as antibacterial or whitening agents.Depending on the condition of the mouth (cavities, gingivitis, abscesses, hyperesthesia), the dentist will recommend the appropriate toothpaste. To enhance the therapeutic effect of fluoride toothpaste, it is advisable to leave it on for a few moments between brushing and rinsing.

The vegetable toothbrush or toothpick

According to scientific studies, it's just as good as synthetic or industrial toothbrushes.In Togo, and in some neighboring countries, the most popular toothpick is called "garcinia afzeli".We recommend a stem about 1 cm in diameter and 30 cm long.It should be fresh and tender, "alovidindin" in Mina. If the stem is not tender, it should be kept in water overnight.It is advisable to rinse your mouth after use, as the debris left between the teeth can irritate the gums or promote tooth decay or bad breath.It is not advisable to keep the toothpick in your mouth all day.Throw it away after 5 minutes' brushing.Toothbrush lifespan

A synthetic or industrial toothbrush should be changed every 3 months at the latest, or as soon as the bristles appear to be frayed or divergent. Brushing should be done twice a day, after meals, especially breakfast, and especially before going to bed. Brushing lasts 2 to 3 minutes when using a manual toothbrush with toothpaste, and at least 5 minutes when using a vegetable toothbrush or toothpick.

A toothbrush is loaded with the microbes of its user.It should not be lent out to avoid contamination.

Regular visits to the dentist

At least two visits a year to the dentist are recommended, even if you don't seem to have any mouth problems.The first visit to the dentist is a preventive one at around 18 months of age.  Systematic visits help to: determine the risk of caries, detect and treat early carious lesions or other mouth diseases, give advice on diet, and provide the necessary tips for beautiful teeth.

William O.

Article validated by Dr Georges Tokofai, President of the Ordre National des Chirurgiens-Dentistes du Togo (ONCDT).