My Obsession with Dental Hygiene

I kinda got stuck with not such a strong mix of dental DNA. Being half-British and half-Japanese speaks for itself in terms of quality of teeth genes.

As such, I am prone to cavities. I am quite envious of that minority of people who have that amazing dental heredity and have never had a cavity despite only irregular brushing and rarely flossing.

My routine consists of flossing on a daily basis. Aileen laughs at how I go a little too hardcore with the floss flicking action, but I just want to take any measures necessary to disrupt those bacterial colonies that grow on enamel. I love dental floss, and always make sure to keep either an extra pack of floss or specialty toothpicks at work, in the car or in my coat. It's good dental hygiene and man, is it satisfying!

I have experimented with many different manual toothbrush techniques in the past: small circles followed by brushing to the crown, dry toothbrushing followed by wet, small vibrations using a very loose grip, dental pastes vs gels vs powders...I've even tried ambidextrous brushing to ensure that each quadrant is equally brushed.

Despite all of this time I put into my dental care routine, many times I visit the dentist and hear about some new "small" dental carie developing. It drives me nuts and makes me obsess even more about refining my brushing technique.

Finally, I gave in reluctantly and invested in an electric toothbrush...and let me tell you, my teeth have never felt so clean! I think I may overdo it sometimes going well past the indicator timer that tells you you have spent enough time brushing your pearly yellows. Best part is that my dental check-ups have been much more positive since.

Debate is still open about fluoridated versus non-fluoridated toothpastes. Aileen and I do try to choose toothpastes that are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)-free. SLS functions as a foaming agent, but is quite harsh to use on mucous membranes like your gingiva. Some people (although this is purely empirical information) find it can aggravate or even cause canker sores.

I would recommend Tom's of Maine toothpastes, which use natural ingredients, and give you the flexibility of choosing fluoride vs fluoride-free, or SLS vs SLS-free, which is nice, as well as Jason Naturals, which has a nice line of toothpastes that are both chemical-free and SLS-free.

Also important to have a fantastic dentist. We love our dentist, Dr.Jerry Vasilakos. He's always up in his new dental gadgetry that helps to monitor the state of your dental health, and has some of the best dental hygienists around. Aileen and I both agreed that we have never had such thorough dental cleanings till we went to Dr.Jerry.

To summarize:
Get an electric toothbrush.
Try out some natural toothpastes.
Get an electric toothbrush.
Make sure you have a great dentist.
And get an electric toothbrush!