ORAL HYGIENE AND HOME CARE: THE GOLD STANDARD
Many patients are prone to making the same common mistakes when it comes to between teeth cleaning and brushing, but this can be avoided with proper patient education and oral hygiene products
Having a conversation with your patients about their home care routines can be daunting because you may feel that your advice is going in one ear and out the other. However, patient education is arguably the most essential aspect of dentistry, and much of it relies on this conversation.
The products and methods that patients use for their oral home care varies by the person. As a dental hygienist with 8 years of clinical experience under her belt, Sara Jane Snyder, RDH, has learned how to have more successful home care conversations with patients. Her secret? She always views each patient individually so that she can recommend products and hygiene techniques that will work best for them.
“It's really about looking at the patient and what they're already doing and then customizing the protocol to them.”
- Sara Jane Snyder, RDH
Snyder starts her home care conversations with patients by asking what they're already doing in their hygiene routines.
“If they are already using toothpicks, but they're not using string floss, I would recommend interdental brushes for that patient because it's similar to—but better than—what they're already using, so it'd be easy for them to adapt and change in that way,” she explained.
When having this conversation and making a recommendation, you'll also want to consider the patient themselves. Do they have small interdental spaces or do they have gaps between their teeth? “It's really about looking at the patient and what they're already doing and then customizing the protocol to them,” Snyder noted.
Snyder always starts simple, whether that means teaching her patients proper techniques or giving them alternatives to traditional methods. If somebody has arthritic hands, even floss picks can be difficult to use. That's when Snyder would recommend a Waterpik or a rubber tip stimulator.
“I’ve even had arthritic patients with dexterity issues who have had to put a regular toothbrush inside of a tennis ball in order for them to be able to brush their teeth appropriately,” she said.
When it comes to toothbrushes, the gold standard would be using an electric toothbrush, according to Snyder. However, she knows that that's not ideal for every patient. For example, some patients with sensory issues may not be able to handle an electric toothbrush due to the vibration, which can sometimes be a bit too intense.
“Although there is better bacterial removal with an electric toothbrush versus a regular toothbrush, manual toothbrushes still clean away the biofilm and the plaque,” said Snyder.
TOOTHBRUSHES
The Oral-B iO from Procter & Gamble features an innovative magnetic drive that delivers concentrated energy to the tips of the bristles where it’s needed most, allowing the brush head to glide tooth by tooth smoothly and quietly. A redesigned brush head combines oscillating, rotating movements with microvibrations for an enjoyable experience and sensational clean. A Smart Pressure Sensor provides guidance on how patients can brush with the right amount of pressure to protect their gums.
The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart toothbrush sends brushing data to the Philips Sonicare app, providing personalized coaching and feedback in real time so that patients can get a clear picture of their brushing habits. With smart brush head recognition, patients will never lose track of when to replace their brush head. The toothbrush tracks how long and hard they’ve brushed with each brush head, and will alert them when it’s time to replace.
BETWEEN-TEETH CLEANING
GUM Soft-Picks Advanced from Sunstar have flexible, comfortable bristles to gently remove plaque, dislodge food, and massage gums. The flexible, synthetic rubber bristles fit easily between most teeth, removing dental plaque where gum disease often starts, and toothbrushes alone cannot reach. The curved design of Soft-Picks Advanced allows the picks to easily reach any area of the mouth, including difficult-to-reach back teeth for a whole clean mouth.
Also from Sunstar, the GUM EasyThread Floss comes in an easy-to-use dispenser and makes cleaning around and underneath braces, fixed bridges, and dental implants easier and less irritating. The stiff threader sections enable easy access to hard-to-reach areas, and the stiffness of the double-ended threader sections maximizes cleaning with each strand. This puffy floss enhances plaque removal, and its innovative packaging reduces tangles and waste.
The Zahn Pick Soft from Hager Worldwide is a professional-grade, easy-glide flossing aid and toothpick combination that uses a soft and sturdy Teflon dental floss. The Zahn Pick Soft is individually wrapped for ultimate hygiene and to help reduce the risk of spreading infection. Zahn Pick Soft is available in packs of 60.
Patterson’s Interdental Flossers are an easy and portable flossing method used for interproximal cleaning. With the end of the C-shaped handle, patients can easily massage gums and remove food and plaque that can build up throughout the day. Each box contains 48 packages with 3 of the flossers in each one.
Along with Patterson Interdental Flossers, Patterson Dental also carries Patterson Floss Packages, which come in unflavored waxed and unwaxed varieties, as well as bubble gum and mint flavors, and Patterson Floss Plus, a 100-yard refi ll spool made of shred-resistant fiber that easily and effectively removes plaque and food particles.
The flexible and tapered bristles on ACCLEAN Gentle Picks by Henry Schein are designed to clean interproximal spaces while stimulating and massaging gums. Each box features 72 packages with 5 latex-free disposable picks per package, allowing clinicians to easily provide samples to patients.
A huge part of getting patients to practice good oral hygiene at home is educating them on why they need to do it.
“Having an educational talk with patients prior to recommending products to them is essential because if you don’t explain the importance of proper care, they will not take things seriously and practice the best possible oral hygiene at home,” Snyder concluded. “I pretty much always see success with my patients when I have meaningful conversations with them and cater to their specific needs when making Interdental Flossers my recommendations.”
