Toothache? Anybody?

A toothache hurts a lot. It hurts when you smile, frown, eat, drink or not doing anything and its killing me since last week.

The dentist told me that I had a very good set of teeth and with proper care it will last me this life time! Riiiiinng…. an alarm in my head. What? Wait a minute. Proper care? What am I doing all these years? Brush my teeth after each meal; never go to bed without flossing, what have I done wrong? I feel like kicking myself for not paying attention to the dental nurses when I was in secondary school on how to brush the teeth properly.

Take your fingernail and scrape it gently across the inside of one of your teeth. Now look at your finger. See the white stuff under your fingernail? That’s plaque, my dear.

Plaque is a sticky film of living and dead bacteria grows on your teeth. When plaque isn’t removed, it can harden – 50% within 48 hrs, becoming rock hard after just 12 days and commonly known as tartar.

You can’t remove tartar, ‘it’s much stronger that elephant glue’ and requires professional help. But good news is that you can remove plaque and by getting plaque off your teeth, you’ll prevent a lot tartar. Removing tartar is easy, so wipe your finger off and read on.

Brush, brush, brush. Think of your toothbrush as your sword and plaque as the enemy. What you want to do in this case is rub the bad guy away.

Friction of a toothbrush disrupts the bacterial plaque growth on the teeth – as long as you do it correctly and most people don’t (that people including me as well).

Up and down or back and forth isn’t correct. Open the mouth slightly - 1st step is upper teeth, start from the gum all the way down, lower teeth all the way up from the gum. 2nd step very gently wiggle your brush in small circle, covering 1 or 2 teeth at a time, downward for upper teeth and downward for lower teeth. 3rd step only brush back and forth, remember gently. Lastly inside out of the teeth!

Buy a brush that fits. Think small when choose your toothbrush. You want to reach all sides of your teeth, including those at the very back of your mouth, a giant brush won’t.

The white colour toothbrush is being recommended by my dentist compared to my existing, blue colour.

Choose soft, rounded bristles. Soft nylon bristles are easier on tooth enamel but as tough on plaque. Sculpted bristles are often sharp and may slice into your gums.

Floss it right. Whoa, don’t snap the floss up and down, in and out of your gums if you were popping the plaque to death. You’re whipping your gum tissue too. Slow down and take your time.

Try baking soda. Baking soda is an old standby that really works. Dip your brush directly into the box or mix a tablespoon of baking soda to a pinch of salt in a cup.

Try Listerine. Listerine has been shown to be effective in reducing the plaque when used alone or used to supplement regular toothbrushing.

Make sugarless gum your last bite. When you can’t brush after a meal, pop a stick of gum and chew your way to cleaner teeth, about 20 minutes. As you chew, your saliva will wash your teeth and neutralize the acid in the plaque before it attacks your teeth. Moving the gum around your mouth may also dislodge food stuck between your teeth.

Go swish, swish, swish. After every meal, especially when you can’t carry a toothbrush, dash to the bathroom and swish a mouthful of water around those teeth. One good swish will remove debris and may save you from spinach-in-the-teeth embarrassment