Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Do you brush your tongue?
- Thread starter iGary
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If I'm going somewhere then I brush my teeth and tongue in the morning. and gums! of course. I do cheeks too. My gran once said "I wouldn't go with a guy if he had bad teeth", as well as being shocked at the idea of my gran being with other men before she got married, that idea about a clean mouth turned into some kind of OCD for me.
Anyone else find that brushing their tongue makes you heave a little?
sometimes I'm almost sick through it.
Anyone else find that brushing their tongue makes you heave a little?
sometimes I'm almost sick through it.
raggedjimmi said:Anyone else find that brushing their tongue makes you heave a little?
Yep. It's particularly bad if I'm hungover. Sometimes... Nevermind.
yep sure do, usually twice a day. i've got this whole thing about brushing my teeth. it takes me for ever in the morning. I use one of those sonic breeze tooth brushes and it works great. i floss everday after lunch with some wierd flosser/tooth pick thing that is mint flavored. when i'm heading out most of the time it is a brush/floss/rinse/ type of thing i've also mixed it up a bit. still refining my teeth brushing techniques for optimum cleaning. still haven't got it quite figured out.
GO MAVS beat HEAT!
GO MAVS beat HEAT!
raggedjimmi said:Anyone else find that brushing their tongue makes you heave a little?
Yeah, especially when I was pregnant, and felt this heaving every morning anyway - it made it worse.
Yes, Im the sort that can shove something to the back of my throat without throwing up... Nasty.
daze said:
I just went to the dentist yesterday, and apparently we should all be using soft or extra soft brushes, or else we risk getting receding gums.
raggedjimmi said:Anyone else find that brushing their tongue makes you heave a little?
Every freaking time.
MarkCollette said:
Your dentist is talking out of his asshat. It is true that very hard toothbrushes are not good as they traumatise the gums. However they don't need to be real soft either. More importantly they should have properly rounded bristles. But the real cause of bleeding, receeding gums or peridontitis is anaerobic bacteria. This is caused by bacteria that lives around the gum line on the plaque. This bacteria then seeps down under the gumline and becomes anaerobic bacteria.
If you gums bleed then you have a problem. To fix this it is important to remove placque from the gum line, rather than the teeth. Plaque comes off easily with mild abrasion. Toothpaste is useless. Salt is good for cleaning teeth, or a good non foaming toothpaste like Weleda Salt toothpaste. Or that japanese stuff made of salt and charcoal.
Anyway the only way to get plaque off at below the gumline level of the teeth is to use properly shaped triangular cross section dental sticks, not floss.
dogbone said:
So where do you find those? I'd like to give them a try.
At least twice a day I use one of those battery-powered Oral B CrossAction brushes and do my teeth, gums, tongue, under the tongue, and roof of my mouth. Then I floss and follow-up with Crest Pro-Care. Needless to say I have really healthy teeth. I figure it's cheaper than having to get a ton of dental work done later.
Angelus520 said:
You should be able to get them from most chemists. There's a well known brand called interdens but I don't like them as they are too soft and the points bend. I use Orab B brand called which they just call 'Dental Woodsticks'.
The reason they are better than floss is that being wood they compress and rub against the teeth at the crucial spot below the and at the gum line. They have a triangular cross section that fits into the blue bit marked on the diagram. The flat side always goes towards the gum.
You should use them everyday with at least ten strokes between each space. At first you will probably find your mouth covered in blood. That is just an indication how bad the peridontitis is, because there should be no blood. When the gums are infected with anaerobic bacteria you body pumps more blood to the region in order to carry more white blood cells to it.
You might also think that it is impossible to get these sticks into some of the spaces because the teeth overlap a bit and there seems to be no space. But I can assure you that in time they will go through. You might end up using quite a few sticks at first till your gums get tougher and your technique gets better. At first go easy as you don't want to traumatise your gums.
About 60% of the population has moderate to severe peridontitis.
EDIT: most people lose their teeth because of crap gums. The bacteria that lives in the plaque at the gum line becomes a problem when it seeps down deep into the teeth and becomes anaerobic bacteria. This form of bacteria then proceeds to destroy the soft bony mass that supports the teeth. Damage here results in permanent tooth loss and will require root canal surgery. All this can be avoided with dental sticks. Floss does not achieve a great deal. Remember denstists get fixated on teeth, they usually don't tell you about the real problems. You can cross check all this with a specialist peridontist.
Attachments
dogbone said:
When I went to the dentist, I hadn't been there in several years, yet I had no cavities, and she said my teeth were pretty clean. I brush for more than the minimum 2 minutes every time, paying particular attention to the gums and gum line. Yet, I have slightly receding gums. Not much, just a millimeter in a few areas. So, I asked what more I could do, and she recommended the soft tooth brush, plus to not brush quite so hard.
So, I don't think she was talking out her ass, when she said that's a factor, especially to me, but it's probably just not as large of a factor for other people who aren't as thorough.