Asklemmy

43742 readers

1095 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

Open-ended question
Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

Lemmyverse: community search
sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
[email protected]: a community for finding communities

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

119

How do you effectively prevent plaque/tartar forming on your teeth? (mander.xyz)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

77 comments fedilink hide all child comments

My teeth are in good health and I take good care of them, yet I always get this plaque buildup no matter what I try.

I've tried different brushes, toothpastes, and flossing methods to no avail. Mouthwash is too harsh on my mouth and peels my skin off so I avoid that.

I haven't tried waterpicks or electric brushes yet. Did you? Did they work for you? Have you succeeded in preventing plaque and if so, how???

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

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)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

That's encouraging, thanks for sharing :)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

For the best gum health, regular string floss is the best thing you can do. A waterpik is not as effective, and don't use those one time floss picks both because they aren't as effective but they're also just super wasteful.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

As much as I hate waste, I'm way more effective using the disposable floss picks.

Edit: spoke with the hygienist during my cleaning today and she said you can be just as effective with the string floss vs the disposable floss picks.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

While it's fair to say you may be more effective with floss picks, string floss overall is more effective, and could be for you as well with practice. There is a much greater range of motion with string floss, and you can actually wrap it around your teeth and get close to your gums. I don't imagine this comment will change your flossing habits, and using floss picks is better than not flossing (for your oral hygiene) but I wouldn't use your anecdotal evidence to suggest other people switch to picks or use picks before normal string floss. Not saying you do recommend it, but idk how others would interpret your personal preference as a recommendation.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Just what works for me. From what my dentist says I'll probably just stick with what's been working