I maintain very good dental hygiene, and my dental hygienist always loves me. These are the tips I’ve picked up from them as I’ve gone

• Use an electric toothbrush. My hygienist didn’t give a recommendation, but I asked what she used and said the Philips Sonicare and really liked it. I got one for $25 on a black friday sale (normally $50 for the model I got). I’m sure plenty would work, but one that also tells you when you’re pressing too hard is a very nice perk, and the timer is a must.
• Floss every day with normal string floss. Honestly, quickly disrupting the bacteria between your teeth is good most days, and then give it a really good go other days to really break things up.
• Never brush with a low pH level in your mouth. Eating anything increases the acidity in your mouth, so wait about 30 minutes before brushing. Some things increase it much more, such as soda. Wait an hour or so after drinking soda or other acidic foods/drinks before brushing. Drinking water can help normalize the pH levels faster, as well. So if you must, just swish around some water a good bit before brushing.
• Saliva is good for you. If you drink a lot of soda or eat a lot of sugary foods, stop it. But since you probably won’t stop (like me) chew sugar free gum to increase saliva production to help fight the sugary-ness of it, as well as help balance the pH levels a little.
• Use alcohol free anti-cavity mouth wash. It’s basically just water and fluoride, so if fluoride toothpaste doesn’t hurt your mouth, you should be okay with this mouthwash.
• Make sure you’re using fluoride toothpaste. It doesn’t need to be fancy, I just use the cheapest fluoride toothpaste.
• Do not rinse out the toothpaste in your mouth after brushing. You want the fluoride to stay on your teeth for as long as possible. And if you do end up using flouride mouthwash, do not drink anything for at least half an hour after using it to make sure the flouride has time to work. The longer it’s on your teeth, the better.
• Brush AT LEAST every night. Of course they always recommend twice a day, but if you picked one, do it before bed and not in the morning. If you don’t brush before bed, the bacteria from the day will sit on your teeth all night going to work on you. I only brush at night, but the hygienists I have always say they wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t told them. And that’s even with habitual soda drinking habits.
• Accept the fact you will get tartar build up. It’s going to happen, despite your best efforts. That’s why you should go to the dentist every 6 months. They will remove the tartar build up with a metal pick, but if you do everything above, it should be an easy job for them.

Consider chewing Xylitol gum after eating. Xylitol directly fucks up the bacteria that cause tooth decay. Make sure to get a brand that is mostly Xylitol (I like Pur).

However, be careful if you have a dog, because xylitol is super poisonous to dogs!

Floss and electric toothbrush, brush twice a day, works wonders. One of those brushes that make sure you brush each quarter for 30 seconds for a total of 2 minutes.

I also had this issue. I was doing everything I could think of to take care of my teeth, but I’d go to the dentist and they would comment about plaque and signs of receding gums. I switched to an electric toothbrush and waterpik. I was actually able to reverse some of the recession (verified by having the dentist take measurements, not notable by just looking)

I used to have this problem. I can’t use wire floss because there is no gap between my teeth… I started using water flossing (basically a pressure washer for your teeth) and paired with an electric toothbrush it worked wonders.

Other notes for a better dental care routine:

• Use toothpaste with fluoride.

• If you are using the water flossing method, do it before brushing your teeth.

• Don’t rinse your mouth after brushing; this is especially useful for brushing your teeth before going to sleep. Don’t drink water afterwards, do it before if you want (obviously if you are feeling dehydrated, drink water, but otherwise let the fluoride do it’s thing).

Get an electric toothbrush, Oral-B is great, don’t feel pressured to get top of the line & Costco has a sale on mid-tier Oral-B 2-pks a few times a year. Get 2 VERY good toothbrushes + a few spare heads for $65.

I have a very specific answer that has worked for me, and I one that hasn’t been said yet. 🙂 Despite prolonged attempts to stop plaque build-up, brushing extensively, mouthwashes, it kept happening. Until I got ProDentim.

I get the “real deal” from their website. It is very expensive, and they look so scammy, too. Their website has a scary countdown timer for their limited-time offer (that always resets, is always active) & they ply you to buy more post-purchase at a deeper discount. It’s tacky AF, I hate it, but the product does work.

ProDentim is based on the idea of replacing the bad bacteria in your mouth with good bacteria. Get your mouth right & it can help take care of itself. It is very expensive…but I figured, so are dental problems. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ After being on ProDentim for a month, I noticed the following:

My gums are healthier, maybe a little stronger. Not swollen. I had a WEIRDLY sensitive tooth, that issue is now gone. My ‘baseline’ for my breath doesn’t smell nearly as bad, it’s all but neutral. And yes, the plaque just doesn’t seem to stick around or build up. Sometimes for days or up to an entire week+ after ceasing ProDentim, yes, I stopped just because I was curious to see how long the plaque shedding would last. That & it’s expensive enough, so rationing it out for effectiveness seems wise.

I talked with my friend recently. I fed it to him, too, without telling him it was “bacteria”. He said, and I quote, “I feel like it’s helped me as well I have no tooth pain and ya sensitivity to cold is almost gone.”

If you really heavily use ProDentim & replace the active bacterial flora in your mouth, gums I can only imagine some positive effects will be more or less permanent. The bacteria in the candies become…your…mouth bacteria. If you try it please write me back & lmk what you think. 🙂

If you’re still reading, here is my exact method I used: I did 2 candies instead of one, morning AND night, for a month. They say to “let the candy melt in your mouth” and that’s it, I say fuck that! I paid for this bacteria, I want to get my money’s worth. I let my saliva build up & fill my mouth, I swish that double dose of bacteria around my teeth & gums for 10, 20, 30 mins. Literally. I do not care, I want that bacteria to be seeded in my body, I give it time. And yeah, ever since late August when I started, my teeth feel fantastic. Even when I lax in my routine, I feel like my baseline is so solid. It’s like how some people have a better mouth without trying? I think I have some of that now. I’ve procured & cultivated the correct mouth bacteria for that to occur.

I’m sorry, mouthwash peels your skin off?!

Electric toothbrush, don’t want to shill for a brand but Oral-B.

Use a toothpaste or mouthwash containing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorhexidine

Since I’ve been sanitizing my brush head in hydrogen peroxide after each use to avoid re-introducing bacteria into my mouth it’s made a significant difference in the quality of my brushing and minimizing plaque formation. Also, the main area to aim for specifically for plaque is where the gum meets the tooth rather than just all over the tooth hitting the gum incidentally.

You need to figure out why mouthwash peels your skin off.

That is not normal and is almost certainly related somehow to the plaque buildup.

Electric brushes (with regularly changed tips) can be amazing. There are also some inexpensive ultrasonic ones and I’m absolutely happy with mine. It’s a whole other level than handbrushes.

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Get a good toothpaste, brush twice a day, change my toothbrush once a month (whether it’s electronic never changed my success rate), and go to the dentist twice a year. My dentist says I have model teeth.

For me I use Phillips soniccare tooth brush which is infinitely better than a manual one. Have you tried your luck with iodine mouthwash? It’s more expensive and tastes gross but it’s really good for gingivitis and doesn’t burn. Also if you aren’t already, flossing everyday and maybe after each meal if needed is important. Floss has to be reaching below the gums to pull out the trapped food and not just in between the teeth.