Asklemmy

43917 readers

1104 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
!lemmy411@lemmy.ca: a community for finding communities

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

121

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

submitted 1 year ago by Mothra@mander.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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

[–] TheMusicalFruit@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year 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)

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 3 points 1 year ago

That's encouraging, thanks for sharing :)

[–] Bazoogle@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year 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.

[–] acutfjg@feddit.nl 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year 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.

[–] Bazoogle@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year 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.

[–] acutfjg@feddit.nl 3 points 1 year ago

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