To clean teeth, tools or methods are important?
Popular electric toothbrushes are not "electric"
Li Di reporter Shengli
With the improvement of living standards, people's demand for personal care products is also increasing day by day. Among them, dental appliances such as electric toothbrushes and tooth cleaners perform more brilliantly.
According to relevant data from the e-commerce platform Taobao, the growth rate of online sales of electric toothbrushes has remained above 69% since 2017, and the year-on-year growth rates in the first and second quarters of 2019 were as high as 137% and 95% respectively.
In this regard, some experts have recently predicted that my country's electric toothbrush market may exceed 50 billion yuan in 2020.
The market is so hot, but some people also questioned: Are electric toothbrushes really useful?
To clean teeth well, is the tool important or the method important?
In response to the above questions, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily interviewed relevant people.
The cleaning effect depends on the way you brush your teeth
“The relatively open surface of the teeth is usually better to be cleaned with a toothbrush or an electric toothbrush; while the gaps between the teeth are usually cleaned with dental floss or a toothbrush.” The Special Action Management Office for Oral Health Promotion, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University Director Yin Wei told a reporter from Science and Technology Daily that the above two methods complement each other for cleaning teeth.
Yin Wei said that the dental flusher is a mechanical tooth cleaning aid. When it is working, its punch will generate pulse pressure, which will make the water flow through the gap between the teeth at a high speed and play a cleaning role.
The electric toothbrush is a toothbrushing tool powered by electric energy. It uses a high-speed vibrating motor core to drive the brush head to rotate at high frequency, disintegrate the plaque on the tooth surface, and play a cleaning role.
In recent years, the sales of the above dental appliances have shown a trend of rapid growth.
So, does this mean that they are really better than ordinary tooth cleaning tools?
"The cleaning effect depends on the way you brush your teeth. Whether you use a manual toothbrush or an electric toothbrush, if you want to effectively clean your teeth, you must clean every surface of each tooth, from top to bottom, from inside to outside, from front to back. They are all brushed, and they must be brushed in the right position to achieve a better brushing effect." Yin Wei said that if you just put the electric toothbrush on the surface of the teeth without moving it correctly, it is impossible to clean the toothbrush.
At the same time, it is unrealistic to hope that you can clean your teeth with an electric toothbrush.
Yin Wei said that under the same conditions, because the vibration frequency of electric toothbrushes is higher, the brushing effect of electric toothbrushes will be better than manual toothbrushes.
In addition, electric toothbrushes can replace the trembling movements of the hands when brushing traditional toothbrushes, making it easier to brush.
These people should not use electric toothbrushes
"Our main task of brushing our teeth is to clean the places where dental plaque accumulates, such as the interdental and recessed areas of the teeth and the junction between the gums and the roots." Yin Wei said.
Dental plaque is a bacterial biofilm. If the plaque is not removed in time, it is easy to cause oral diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis.
Either an electric toothbrush or a traditional toothbrush can achieve the purpose of removing plaque. The key is the method of operation.
When cleaning the teeth with an electric toothbrush, the tremor will be generated automatically, without manual operation, what the user has to do is to brush the teeth according to the steps and put the toothbrush in the right position.
If you brush your teeth manually, Yin Wei recommends that adults use the Pap brushing method. One of the key points of the operation is to place the bristles at a 45-degree angle to the teeth and tremble quickly at the gingival sulcus to remove plaque.
Yin Wei explained that with the Pap brushing method, first place the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the long axis of the tooth, point the bristles toward the root tip of the tooth, and then make part of the bristles enter the gingival sulcus, and part of the bristles at the junction of the gums and teeth. It should extend into the adjacent gap as much as possible, and finally use the bristles to shake 10 times in a short distance and horizontally. When shaking, the toothbrush moves about 2 mm to 3 mm, brushing 2 to 3 teeth each time.
In addition, Yin Wei recommends that children use the arc brushing method, that is, the toothbrush bristles are placed in circles on the tooth surface.
"This kind of brushing method is easier for children to master and better control." He said.
In addition, experts suggest that whether you are using an electric toothbrush or a traditional toothbrush, it is more important to choose the right tool. Don't blindly pursue electric.
"The frequency and strength of electric toothbrushes are relatively fixed. If children cannot master the method of use, it is easy to damage their immature gums, and may even cause problems such as periodontitis and tooth loss. If children need to use electric toothbrushes, they should choose children's special models." Yin Wei emphasized.
"In addition, people who do not have the ability to control their teeth or those with severe oral diseases are best not to use electric toothbrushes. For example, patients with severe periodontitis have very loose teeth and bleeding gums. To relieve symptoms, To reduce the negative impact of toothbrushes on teeth, it is best not to use electric toothbrushes temporarily." Yin Wei said.