Practising good oral hygiene will keep your mouth free of disease and other problems, such as bad breath. We’ve put together a ‘help sheet’ for good oral hygiene and products we recommend.

Cleaning your teeth

  • ‘Spit don’t rinse’ fluoride toothpaste
  • Fluoride toothpaste should be last thing on teeth before you go to sleep 
  • Very important to brush x2 daily and before bed is the most important time 
  • Use interdental brushes and flossing to clean between your teeth

Interdental brushing

Interdental brushes should be a snug fit for effective plaque removal, this may mean you need more than one size for your teeth. If you are unsure your hygienist can size them for you at your next appointment.

You can buy Interdental brushes from the Practice or they are available at any supermarket or pharmacy.

Using Mouthwash

Use at a separate time to brushing your teeth as it is more important to mechanically disturb plaque with electric toothbrushes and interdental brushes than chemically with a mouthwash. We also want the higher dosage of fluoride in your toothpaste to stay on your teeth to protect them from the sugar/acid in your diet.

Toothbrushes we recommend

  • Oral-B Pro 2 or models above
  • If you are unsure, bring your toothbrushes into your hygiene appointments and we can check they are suitable for you
  • Change heads every 3 months
  • Oral-B CrossAction heads achieve optimal plaque removal
  • Stay clear of any with rubber cups or rubber bristles these are not effective at disturbing the sticky plaque bacteria

Toothpastes we recommend

General toothpastes:

  • Oral-B Pro Expert Professional Protection Toothpaste
  • Colgate Total

For people with gum disease:

  • Use bluem® Toothpaste with Calcium Fluoride in the mornings and a normal fluoride toothpaste in the evenings. This is because the fluoride helps remineralise any vulnerable areas in your mouth from sugars and acids eaten that day.

For sensitive teeth:

  • We recommend Colgate Sensitive Instant Relief Multi Protection for in the evenings, this has fluoride in which helps remineralise any vulnerable areas in your mouth from sugars and acids in diet. This is also fine to use when whitening.
  • Toothpastes that contain Novamin are great for sensitivity. However, we recommend you do not use these when whitening
  • Sensodyne Sensitive Repair & Protect
  • Sensodyne Sensitive Toothpaste, Complete Protection (foaming- contains sls)

For high acidic diets:

  • Sensodyne Pronamel Enamel Care