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???
there is likely no way to entirely prevent it, but I have been using a sonicare for about nearly 20 years and have had 0 problems with my teeth. I cannot recommend them enough—everyone should have one.
For a non-boring answer:
Introduce alcohol producing microbes into your mouth to replace the plaque-producing variety
(not recommended)
That was interesting ha
I think between a candidiasis and plaque I’ll keep the plaque, at least I have it somewhat under control
I’m sorry, mouthwash peels your skin off?!
The skin inside my mouth yes.
https://www.ijcasereportsandimages.com/archive/article-full-text/101184Z01CE2020
That’s the best reference I can find on a quick Google search, it even has images in case you wonder. I’m fine with toothpastes because I rinse thoroughly after brushing, but mouthwash needs no rinsing to be effective and after a week or so of regular use the inside of my mouth gets very irritated and sore.
Saying “mouthwash” in general is not specific enough. There are lots of types of mouthwash. I personally always go for flouride and alcohol mouthwash, so it kills germs and provides protection for my teeth. If the alcohol is what’s hurting your mouth, use alcohol free anti-cavity (flouride) mouthwash. Maybe you’re using the gingivitis mouthwash? Or the alcohol mouthwash? It doesn’t make sense to say all mouthwash does the same thing to your mouth
Electric toothbrush, don’t want to shill for a brand but Oral-B.
Also don’t want to shill out for a brand, but my philips sonicare is pretty good, and I always get compliments from my dentist. Though do NOT spend the full price. I got mine on sale for half off during black Friday (which was still $25), but with the time of year right now you could definitely get a reasonable price.
To echo this sentiment, my oral B toothbrush has made a huge difference with minimal effort. My dentists are always impressed by my tooth and gum health. It won’t completely eliminate plaque, and still requires regular flossing.
As others have somewhat suggested maybe try some diet modifications. I also recommend going to the dentist and seeing what they have to say, everyone has different things impacting mouth health and a dentist will know how to help you the most.
Have you tried changing your brushing technique? From my time working in a dentist’s office as an assistant, its usually the brushing technique that most people get wrong. You’re supposed to focus on where the teeth and gums meet.
https://youtu.be/rqAdceHE5CI?si=X7xQdoaV9llNUn4P
I recommend the first 2 from the link above. They’re the most similar to how most people already brush their teeth so its an easy transition. The only real difference is you angle your toothbrush 45° away from the surface of your teeth. Doesn’t matter if you angle it up or down.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/rqAdceHE5CI?si=X7xQdoaV9llNUn4P
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Thanks for that, short and informative. I’ve never had a dentist suggest brushing my front teeth at an angle, only molars and premolars. Cheers
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.
Thanks for the tips! One nitpick: I’m pretty sure acidity leads to a lower pH, not higher. But, your point still stands!
Good catch. The way I think about the pH scale in my head always feels like acidity should be high on the pH, but that’s just wrong XD
Yeah, it would seem that the [p]ower of [H] should increase with the number of H+ ions! But, they threw in that minus sign for some reason.
You can also get the dental picks off Amazon for a few bucks. You can use it once a month and get rid of the plaque yourself. Then it can’t build up.
No, this isn’t dental advice but I’ve had no issues. Don’t go crazy on your teeth or gums.
Good overview!
I use an electric toothbrush (Oral-B is very good), floss, a CBC mouthwash, and a tongue scraper. Sometimes I’ll floss after meals as well. I’ve read that brushing immediately after a meal is not good.
You seem to be doing quite some things well. Maybe pay attention to your brushing? My dentist once had me brush my teeth in front of her and identified why in some teeth I’d consistently be clean and in others I’d consistently build plaque.
Her recommendations: brush from the gum to the tip of the tooth. Try to aim at the holes between teeth. Pay close attention to the part in front of your tongue, in your lower front teeth; that part can easily build plaque if you don’t use the tip of your brush well to get in the holes between your teeth.
Thanks, I don’t believe it’s the brushing. I’ve done that with several dentists and my brushing is fine. The plaque builds where the brush doesn’t reach, often right under the gums.
I’ve never had anyone say to brush only from the gum to the tooth ends, this makes sense and might be helpful
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.
I just learned this the other day and that along with the purple Listerine…my gums are not bleeding after flossing for the first time in years…and I’ve got good teeth…just too much tartar build up because I was flossing wrong. I’m going to try the hydrogen peroxide thing too.
Arm and hammer toothpaste with baking soda is great. Clinical studies have proven a statistically greater reduction in plaque than toothpaste that does not contain baking soda.
While I think brushing, flossing, mouthwash all play an important role. Nobody is teaching you how to breakdown the actual problem. Besides genetics if your hygiene is sufficient. The food and drinks you consume are to blame. Bacteria are influenced from your diet. Change what you consume and your bodily systems will adjust accordingly, that being said cause and effect should be noted. Changing one system will modify others good or bad. Tailor your intakes based on the symptoms your trying to mitigate by learning how those systems work individually and then cohesively together. The fastest way albeit quite inconvenient is to log every food, drink, and consumable item that goes into your mouth each day for X number of days and find trigger foods which cause your symptoms. Analyze and extrapolate the data. Refine through trial and error. Tailor your diet to suit.
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.
They dont even have to be expensive. We spent like $200 on my wife’s Sonicare. I have some cheap toothbrush I got on Amazon for 30 bucks. They both brush just as effectively.
If you’re like me and you can’t do string floss, try a water flosser. It’s what got me started flossing. No dentist will tell you it’s just as effective as string floss. Any dentist will tell you it’s better than not flossing at all.
Plus, my breath stinks a lot less.
When you start flossing regularly you can taste when you haven’t. That’s the halitosis.
I suspect it may be that I suck at flossing, and I’ve tried different methods as well as those disposable toothpick things. Will keep the water one in mind, cheers
Same. I’m terrible at flossing. I have my tonsils and my wisdom teeth. Reaching toward the back is a major pain for me and that’s why I decided to try water flossing. It’s so much easier for me to do every day. I just brush and floss each night after I shower. Flossing makes a much bigger impact on bad breath than most people realize. I just started flossing regularly about four months ago, and I’ve had a dentist appointment in between. For the first time in my 31 years, getting flossed at the dentist did not leave me a bloody, painful mess. It felt nice.
I mentioned that I have my tonsils because I get tonsil stones. While I probably should talk to an ENT about tonsillectomy, I live in America. What I can recommend, if you get them and you can’t or don’t want to go through surgery, is to set your water flosser to the absolute gentlest setting, and aim that jet at your tonsils every once in a while. Obviously, you don’t want to make them bleed. But if you’ve ever spit out a tonsil stone, take a whiff. That may actually explain a lot. The fuckers smell absolutely rancid. My dentist tells me even a small one once every 4-6 weeks is abnormal.
Best of luck, bud. I hope this helps.
Thanks for sharing! I don’t get the stones, though I did have a couple when I was still a kid and you are right about the smell. I’m sorry your tonsils are giving you so much trouble. Definitely will keep in mind the water floss
And remember, a WaterPik CANNOT be used as a makeshift bidet, no matter how tempting.
Very painful lesson.
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.
The plaque forms as a result of bacteria eating the sugars that stay on your teeth. Most dentists in my life have recommended brushing right after eating.
This is actually incorrect. After eating your mouth is becomes a very acidic environment, it means the tooth enamel is at its softest. Brushing at that point only erodes the enamel faster, leading to sensitive teeth.
Gargle first. Wait an hour before brushing, it will allow your saliva to neutralize the acidity and allow the enamel time to remineralize.