Electric Toothbrush...do I REALLY need one?

The simple answer is YES. I am a big proponent of electric toothbrushes.  I think everyone should have one! When I see a new patient, I usually deliver my little "electric toothbrush" speech after I give the "floss daily" speech and "brush tongue" speech and "don't forget to see us every six months" speech. But people generally don't want to hear too much preaching from their dentist, so sometimes I refrain from the electric toothbrush talk. If a person has relatively good oral hygiene and seems to be in control of his/her manual toothbrush, I might not mention it in the first visit. But believe me, I will bring it up at some point, fanatic that I am.

I am not promoting any particular kind of electric toothbrush, but I will tell you why I LOVE MY SONICARE in a bit....

The benefits of an electric toothbrush are many:

1) an electric toothbrush is more effective at removing plaque than manual brushing

2) gum recession can be prevented or reduced

3) gum health can improve significantly

4) it can whiten your teeth

5) it encourages longer brushing times, usually at least 2 minutes

So you can see why I tout this wonderful invention! ( I also happen to love the Waterpik, but I will save that discussion for a later time). With the constant motion at a constant speed, plaque comes off much more readily and easily with an electric toothbrush. Also, many many people suffer from receding gums. Most of the time this was caused by aggressive or incorrect toothbrushing technique. Many of us grew up thinking the harder we brush and the harder the bristles are, the cleaner our teeth will be. Granted, it probably does take all the yuck off your teeth but at the same time it abrades the outer layer of the teeth and starts to wear down the gums. If the recession is severe, a gum graft may be indicated, which is not the most pleasant experience. Usually though, we are just trying to prevent the general gum recession from getting worse. A lifetime habit of aggressive brushing can be hard to break, so why not let an electric brush do the work for you?

It would make sense then, if plaque is coming off more readily, then that means there will be less plaque in your mouth, less plaque irritating the gums....hence, less gum disease! Yippee! Less bleeding, less swelling, healthier gum condition, good breath...even better!

Also, because the electric toothbrush is so efficient, it takes off those darned surface stains people get from drinking all those delectable drinks like coffee, red wine..etc. It really does make your teeth whiter and stay whiter!

Most of these fancy brushes have a built-in timer as well. It is fantastic, because they give a 30 sec pause so you can brush each section of your mouth for the same amount of time. Two minutes go by in a flash! Try doing that with a manual brush. Most people brush for about 20 seconds, tops. Time yourself! See how you do!

The Sonicare is my electric toothbrush of choice. I cannot live without this thing. When I try to brush with a regular brush now it feels so awkward and archaic. I feel like my teeth are still dirty for crying out loud. I am not trying to say one cannot brush well manually. It is definitely possible. I am saying I have become so incredibly spoiled by my Sonicare that I can't go back!

This device is amazing. It moves in a quick sweeping motion, which is very effective at removing plaque while at the same time very gentle on the gums. I was once one of those aggressive toothbrushers (chalk it up to my Type A personality, oldest child in a Korean family, etc) so I have quite a lot of gum recession. It has the timer, and even a UV sanitizing station for the brush heads! Love it!

I wish I could just give these to all of my patients but alas, I am not the Donald Trump of dentistry. But I do offer it at a reduced price from the retail shops. I'm telling you, it is an investment well worth it...the best insurance you can get for a lifetime of healthy gums. Cheesy, I know. But I speak the truth!

All the best,

invisaligngal

What are ATTACHMENTS?

Hi! Today I thought I would talk about these little things called, "Attachments." Maybe not the most exciting blog topic of the year but it is a question that potential Invisalign patients have on their mind! So what are Attachments? And why do we have to use them? Basically, there are 3 main components of the Invisalign system:

1) the aligners (the clear trays)
2) IPR (Interproximal reduction, or "polishing" in between the teeth to make space)
3) ATTACHMENTS

Attachments are small "tooth-colored fillings" that are placed on the outer surface of certain teeth. My patients like to call them, "knobs", "blobs", "thingys", or "thingamajigs." They are made of the same material that we use for tooth-colored composites. The purpose of attachments are many. Sometimes the aligner alone cannot effectively move a particular tooth in the way we want. Attachments may be used for:

1) rotating teeth
2) pulling a tooth down
3) pushing a tooth up or sideways
4) helping to keep the aligner in place
5) pushing teeth back

As you can see the role of attachments can be really important! So although it would be great to just wear the aligners and get straight teeth, in many cases at least a couple of attachments are necessary. Coupled with the aligner, the attachment helps to create forces to push/pull/rotate a tooth. These little knobs are more helpful than they look! And they are still wayyy better than wearing a mouth full of brackets!

Attachments usually stay on for the duration of the Invisalign treatment. They vary in shape and size. Most of my patients say that after a short while they get used to them and don't really notice them at all. Also, once you place the aligner over the teeth, it is even less visible.

One similarity with brackets that I have noticed: you have to really brush well around the attachments during your treatment. Just like brackets, the attachments can be receptacles for plaque and all that icky stuff. If it doesn't come off, then eventually you may see those little white spots or decalcified areas that can become permanent after the brackets or attachments are removed. But that is what is so great with Invisalign. You can remove the aligners so it is so much easier to clean around the attachments! No wire to try to get under and wrestle using that darned floss threader!

I just read through this post and actually counted 6 exclamation points. I never thought I could get that excited over attachments!

I must be a true Invisalign geek.

Your invisalign gal :)